Day: March 20, 2022

There were 141,151 new COVID-19 infections, including two imported cases, recorded across Vietnam on March 20, according to the Ministry of Health.

The capital city of Hanoi continued registering the highest daily number of infections with 19,065, followed by Nghe An with 9,333 cases, and Phu Tho with 5,747 cases.

Besides, northern Vinh Phuc province registered additional 25,056 cases after verifying information.

Vietnam’s total caseload now reaches 7,958,048.

A total of 63 COVID-related deaths were also recorded, taking the total number of fatalities to 41,880, accounting for 0.5 percent of the total infections.

There were a further 111,635 recoveries, bringing the total number of people given the all-clear to 4,103,028.

As many as 201.660,445 million vaccine doses have been administered nationwide since the start of the pandemic./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

A sports delegation of ASEAN countries toured some competition venues for the upcoming 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31) in the northern province of Quang Ninh on March 19.

Quang Ninh will host seven out of 40 sports in the Games, including volleyball and women’s football.

Deputy Secretary General for Administration of the Philippine Olympic Committee Carl Sambrano highly valued the province’s preparations, particularly at the 5,000-seat gymnasium which will host indoor volleyball matches.

He added that the expressway linking Hanoi and Quang Ninh facilitates the travel of participating teams between the two localities.

Chong Fui Kim from the Singapore National Olympic Council said although the COVID-19 pandemic delivered a heavy blow to Vietnam’s preparation for SEA Games 31, most of the competition venues in Quang Ninh stand ready to host the regional event.

He spoke highly of efforts and determination of the organising board and Vietnamese people in preparing for the Games despite the complex developments of COVID-19, believing that the event will be successful.

Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Culture and Sports Nguyen Thanh Tung informed that the training area for Southeast Asian athletes has been about 80 percent completed and all tasks are projected to finish next month.

A health subcommittee of the province is responsible for building plans and assigning personnel for COVID-19 prevention and control and doping test.

Quang Ninh also plans to work together with telecom companies to ensure an information technology system serving the SEA Games 31.

The Games, themed “For a stronger South East Asia”, will run in Hanoi and 11 neighbouring localities from May 12 to 23. It will feature 40 sports with 526 events and expect to attract around 10,000 participants. The biennial event was initially slated for late 2021 but delayed due to the pandemic./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Vietnamese runners won major prizes at the 2022 Manulife Da Nang International Marathon, which took place in the central city of Da Nang on March 20.

More than 5,000 participants, of which about 65 percent are athletes from other provinces and cities, joined in the event.

Bui Van Da triumphed at the men’s 42km, clocking 2:57:09, followed by Nguyen Huu Manh and Truong Ngoc Anh.

In the women’s 42km, Tran Thi Hoa clinched first place with a time of 3:32:42. Hoang Lan Anh and Nguyen Ngot finished second and third, respectively.

Meanwhile, in the 21km, Deichmann Florian from Germany came first at the men’s category and Pham Nga of Vietnam won the women’s one.

Tran Dang An and Nguyen Thi Duong from Vietnam secured the first spots in the men’s and women’s 10km, respectively.

On March 19, a 1.5km race Ronny Dash was held for more than 200 children and their parents, as part of the marathon.

The marathon is among the largest marathons in Vietnam with running tracks certified by the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS).

According to the review of Rad Season Magazine (US), the Manulife Danang International Marathon was ranked 3rd among the 6 must-try marathons in Asia.

Director of Da Nang Department of Culture and Sports Pham Tan Xu said the eighth edition of the marathon was held after a two-year halt due to COVID-19, drawing the attention of many local people and tourists.

The number of racers surged to nearly 10,000 in 2019 from just 1,000 six years earlier. Over 9,000 foreign runners from nearly 70 countries and territories worldwide competed at seven editions of the marathon./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The official song for the upcoming 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31) was revealed during a ceremony held in Hanoi on March 20 which honoured outstanding athletes and coaches of the country last year.

The song, composed by renown composer Huy Tuan, is titled ‘Hay toa sang’ (Let’s shine),

It expresses pride in the culture and people of Vietnam, and highlights sportsmanship as well as efforts made to achieve the best results, with lyrics in Vietnamese language and chorus in English.

The song also sends a message of development, solidarity and friendship between Vietnam and international friends.

Composer Huy Tuan said that he is so proud that his work has been chosen among hundreds of entries submitted to the contest. The song is a present dedicated to all athletes, he added, hoping that they will obtain the best results during competitions.

Deputy Director of the Vietnam Sports Administration Le Thi Hoang Yen said the song has easy to memorise lyrics and is hoped to encourage athletes and be favoured by sports enthusiasts at home and abroad.

The SEA Games 31, themed “For a stronger South East Asia”, will run in Hanoi and 11 neighbouring localities from May 12 to 23. It will feature 40 sports with 526 events and expects to attract around 10,000 participants. The biennial event was initially slated for late 2021 but delayed due to the pandemic./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Positive signals of tourism seen in many localities during the Lunar New Year Holiday, and especially the decision to officially reopen tourism activities under the “new normal” state from March 15 are opening up many opportunities for the non-smoke industry to recover after a long hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

During this recovery process, one of the key factors is the quality of human resources of the tourism and service industry.

As impact of the long-lasting pandemic, tourism human resources in Vietnam are facing many difficulties. Figures from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism show that, in 2020, tourism businesses had to cut their staff by 70-80 percent. In 2021, the number of employees who still work full-time only accounted for 25 percent of that in 2020, while the number of employees who quit jobs or terminated labour contracts made up about 30 percent, those who temporarily quit jobs about 35 percent, and those who worked perfunctorily 10 percent.

In the “new normal”, the trend of choosing products and destinations of holiday-makers has changed, requiring the tourism industry and its human resources to have necessary adaptations. Hoang Nhan Chinh, head of the Secretariat of the Vietnam Tourism Advisory Board, said that the reopening of tourism activities brings about many opportunities; however, in reality, many tourism human resources have left their familiar jobs. Meanwhile, new personnel have not been properly trained, especially new skills that need to be supplemented such as those of instructing tourists on pandemic prevention and control measures, using new technologies, and applying digital transformation.

Affirming the importance of human resources in contributing to the creation of attractive tourism products, representatives of many businesses, experts and managers stressed the need to continue to focus on improving the quality of human resources by stepping up training and retraining.

It is very important to train knowledge about digital technology and digital transformation for those working in the non-smoke industry in the context of international economic integration and the global COVID-19 pandemic./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Vietnamese startup community has made breakthroughs despite difficulties brought by the COVID-19 pandemic as a record high of more than 1.3 billion USD in venture capital was pumped into startups last year.

The amount showed their dynamism, flexibility and resilience amid the complex developments of COVID-19.

Pham Hong Quat, head of the National Agency for Technology Entrepreneurship and Commercialisation Development, said the startups opted for technological solutions in calling for investment due to the pandemic.

Domestic demand helps Vietnamese startups pilot their digital transformation products and come up with solutions which are expected to go global, he added.

As there is a need for those who are capable of turning technologies into business models in a bid to resolve specific issues of the market, startups and consultants are believed to play an important role. Support from major businesses will also enable Vietnamese startups to compete with their peers in regional countries.

This year, Vietnamese startups are projected to ride the wave of momentum in 2021. Once they recognise global solutions and trends in the post-pandemic period, they will be able to cope with and make breakthroughs, Quat said.

To facilitate the rapid development of the startup community, Quat underlined the need for coaches and consultants, adding that more policies are required to support startups that address global solutions.

Tech experts said that orientation for Vietnamese startups to resolve global issues is a focus of the national economic development facilitation at large and innovation in particular.

Startups are advised to collaborate with each other and join hands with major corporations, coaches and consultants so as to go global and obtain better achievements this year./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency