Day: March 5, 2022

Thailand’s Department of Disease Control (CDC) has urged more than 2 million elderly people to get COVID-19 shots before the Songkran festival as infections may soar during the festive period.

CDC deputy chief Sophon Iamsirithavorn said on March 4 that the department has voiced strong concern that 2.17 million senior citizens still have not received any COVID-19 vaccines, meaning their health could be jeopardised if they get infected.

About 83 percent of the elderly demographic in Thailand is now vaccinated with at least one shot, he said.

Statistics provided by the department show that out of every 100,000 senior citizens in Thailand aged 60 to 69, 521 contract COVID-19. The number is slightly lower for those above 70 at 444.

Thailand reported 22,818 new cases and 52 deaths in the past 24 hours to March 5 morning, raising the national count to more than 3 million and 23,176, respectively.

Meanwhile, authorities of Bali resort island of Indonesia have decided to remove quarantine for foreign tourists starting March 7, one week earlier than the initial plan.

Tourists must test for COVID-19 using RT-PCR method before arriving and are allowed to travel to all destinations in Bali if they test negative. They must take the test again on their third day in Bali.

If the result turns out to be positive, they will be quarantined at a hotel or hospitalised

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Government has set out five key tasks to help boost socio-economic development in land border areas.

Recently issued Resolution No. 23/NQ-CP on economic development in land border areas covers mechanisms and policies, mobilising and using resources and promoting infrastructure development to boost development.

Other tasks are enhancing production, effective national defence and security missions as well as ensuring social security and improving social welfare and sustainable poverty reduction in land border areas.

Vietnam has more than 5,000 kilometres of land border, with many operational border gates. However, many border areas remain poor compared to other parts of the nation.

Accordingly, advancing socio-economic development and social security in these areas is of significant importance to narrow the development gap and strengthen the effectiveness of trade and investment ties with neighbouring countries.

The Government tasked the Ministry of Planning and Investment to take prime responsibility and work with other agencies to step up international cooperation and attract domestic and foreign investment capital, including aid and concessional credits to infrastructure projects in these areas.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development was asked to coordinate with relevant localities in designing agriculture, forestry and fisheries development plans.

Relevant ministries, agencies and localities with land borders are required to prioritise capital from the State budget and effectively use other sources of capital to invest in infrastructure, particularly developing the transport infrastructure system to connect disadvantaged areas with developed economic zones.

They must also review and restructure land use and complete the allocation of land and forest, particularly for ethnic minorities, to improve their living conditions.

It is important to deal with the shortage of land, houses and safe water and environmental pollution for mountainous and border areas, the resolution says./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on March 5 requested the gradual normalisation of the COVID-19 pandemic at a teleconference between the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control with ministries, sectors, and 63 provinces and cities.

PM Chinh ordered readiness without neglect and subjectivity as the pandemic may continue developing in a complicated and unpredictable manner with the Omicron variant.

He stressed the importance of continuing to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, focus on curbing the risks, limiting the number of severe cases and fatalities, promoting rapid recovery and sustainable development, ensuring social welfare and maintaining national defense and security. It is necessary to speed up the implementation of the vaccination drive, with the goals of completing the injection of the booster shot for people aged from 18 in the first quarter of 2022, completing the 2nd injection for those aged 12-17 in March, preparing a vaccination campaign for children from 5-11 years old, and studying the administration of the fourth shot for adults and injection for children under 5 years old.

The Ministry of Health was required to urgently license drugs for pandemic prevention and treatment, and intensify guidance on treatment measures at home, at medical facilities, while the Ministry of Information and Communications was asked to continue perfecting technologies serving pandemic prevention and control based on the population database.

The Government leader also ordered the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to coordinate with other agencies to prepare for the official reopening of tourism activities on March 15.

As the spirit of pandemic prevention and control is without precedent, so it does not need perfectionism, cannot be in a hurry, but need closely follow the situation to continue to learn from experience and make appropriate adjustments, he stressed.

According to a report by the Health Ministry, Vietnam has to date recorded nearly 4.06 million infections, of whom 2.59 million have fully recovered and 40,609 deaths.

As of March 3, Vietnam had received 218 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines of all kinds, of which over 196 million doses have been administered./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The south central province of Ninh Thuan boasts favourable conditions to attract investment in marine economy and coastal industries, as it is one of Vietnam’s major fishing grounds with a coastline stretching 105 km.

Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Tran Quoc Nam said thanks to specialised mechanisms and policies, Ninh Thuan has drawn attention from strategic investors, especially for coastal areas.

To create momentum for growth, Ninh Thuan has taken an initiative in building a power development plan for 2016-25, with consideration to 2035, and joined hands with ministries and sectors to add new advantage fields to the national planning, particularly coastal and offshore wind power, deep-water seaports and logistics, in a bid to call for investments.

Local authorities have viewed offshore industries among priorities to develop the marine economy. They have worked to attract investment in large-scale industrial projects applying advanced technology.

By the end of 2021, Ninh Thuan had granted investment licences to 47 marine industrial projects with a combined registered capital of more than 2 trillion VND (87.65 million USD). To date, 25 projects worth 651 billion VND have come into operation.

The province also calls for investments in infrastructure of coastal industrial parks in line with the establishment and development of an ocean economic hub, especially in the southern key economic zone.

It has exerted efforts to capitalise on advantages in fisheries development and carry out a project reorganising exploitation activities.

Of note, the province has become a shrimp breeding hub of the country, meeting more than 30 percent of nationwide demand annually and successfully building its brand.

It has issued a tourism development mechanism and promoted tourism investment in coastal localities. As of late 2021, 23 projects totalling over 16 trillion VND had received approval of the provincial People’s Committee, which are hoped to build a coastal tourism brand for the province.

Ninh Thuan has set a target to post a marine economic growth rate of 15-16 percent per year by 2025, with sea-based economic sectors accounting for 41-42 percent of the province’s gross domestic product, and mobilise up to 62 trillion VND for investment in marine economy.

To meet the goal, priorities will be given to the fields of energy, renewable energy; urban development;; coastal tourism and sea services, among others.

The province will speed up the first phase of the Ca Na liquefied natural gas (LNG) complex project of 1,500 MW and move towards the establishment of the Ca Na power centre of 6,000 MW in coming years.

It aims to welcome 3.5 million tourists by 2025, of whom 13 percent are foreigners, bringing in about 2.9 trillion VND./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Vietnam’s U23 team is to play Iraq and Croatia at the 2022 Dubai Cup, which is a friendly tournament scheduled to take place later this March in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Ten football teams from Asia and Europe will compete at the event, including Uzbekistan, China, Saudi Arabia, Japan and host the UAE. Each team will play three matches throughout the tourney, which will be held on March 23-29.

Vietnam will play Iraq in the first round on March 23 and Croatia in the second round three days later.

The third one is slated for March 29.

The upcoming tourney is to help Vietnam get ready for the 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games), to be hosted by the country this May, and the 2022 AFC U23 Asian Cup./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency