19 firefighters died

Ministry proposes keeping Covid-19 in Group A of infectious diseases Regarding the reason why Covid- 19 has not been considered an endemic disease in Vietnam yet, the Ministry of Health said that most countries in the world are in a state of unstable cases and deaths, with an erratic increase and decrease trend when new variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus appear. At the same time, acquired immunity (due to vaccines and infection) has not been stable for a long time and decreases over time. In Vietnam, more than 9 million new cases were reported in the first seven months of this year, with over 33,000 cases in July alone, up 22.4 percent from June. Cases of sub variants BA.4, BA.5 have been recorded and began to account for a large proportion in southern provinces. Meanwhile, the rates of booster shot vaccination and vaccination among children were low in some localities. The rise in new cases could cause overload of the health system, particularly in the context of other diseases … [Read more...] about Ministry proposes keeping Covid-19 in Group A of infectious diseases

The Vietnamese Ministry of Health on Friday reported an additional 2,192 Covid-19 infections, raising the country's total tally to over 11 million. Illustrative photo According to the ministry's report, the national caseload has so far increased to 11,362,540. On August 12, an additional 5,897 more patients recovered from the disease, raising the number of recoveries in the country to over 10.00 million. On Friday evening, one death from Covid-19 was recorded, raising the country's total fatalities to 43,096, accounting for 0.4 per cent of total infections. By August 12, the country had injected more than 250 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines. Vietnam is targeting the completion of Covid-19 inoculation for children aged between 5 - 11 in August, as well as the administration of the third shot for those aged 12 - 17, as well as the third and fourth doses to people aged 18 and above as soon as possible. … [Read more...] about Vietnam reports additional 2,192 new Covid-19 cases on Friday

An unidentified highly toxic substance in the Oder river, which runs through Poland and Germany, appears to be the cause of a mass die-off of fish, the German state of Brandenburg's environment ministry said. An analysis of river water taken this week showed evidence of "synthetic chemical substances, very probably also with toxic effects for vertebrates," the ministry said on Thursday, adding that it remained unclear how the substance entered the water. According to local broadcaster rbb, the state laboratory found high levels of mercury in the water samples. The head of Poland's national water management authority told private broadcaster Polsat News that the presence of mercury in the water had yet to be confirmed, however. "At the moment, these are press reports. We have no confirmation regarding mercury in the Oder," Przemyslaw Daca, the head of Polish Waters, said. The ministry in Brandenburg, the state surrounding Berlin, said it had not yet been possible to assess … [Read more...] about Mass fish die-off in German-Polish river blamed on unknown toxic substance

Vietnam confirmed an additional 8,176 new Covid-19 infections in 52 localities on Sunday, according to the Ministry of Health. According to the ministry's report, 8,163 of the new patients are locally-transmitted cases confirmed in 52 out of 63 localities in the country including HCM City (985), An Giang (695), Dong Nai (674), Binh Duong (623), Dong Thap (382), Binh Thuan (369), Tay Ninh (332), Soc Trang (299), Vinh Long (288), Tien Giang (274), Kien Giang (274), Bac Lieu (273), Ca Mau (243), Dak Lak (228), Khanh Hoa (209), Ba Ria - Vung Tau (204), Binh Phuoc (184), Can Tho (146), Thai Binh (134), and Tra Vinh (134). There were 13 imported patients confirmed today. The new infections showed a decrease of 288 cases compared to yesterday's figure. There were 3,705 infections found in the community. As of Sunday evening, 1,021,493 infections had been reported since the new outbreak occurred in the country in late April. Some localities that have recorded the highest number of … [Read more...] about Over 8,100 new Covid-19 infection cases confirmed on Sunday

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam speaks at the conference (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – The education sector has maintained its international rankings, and further overhauled the general education curriculum and textbooks in the 2021-2022 academic year despite serious COVID-19 -induced difficulties, said Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam . Dam made the comment at a conference held by the Ministry of Education and Training in Hanoi on August 12 to review outcomes of the past academic year and deploy tasks for the coming one. The official requested that the sector continue with comprehensive reforms to enhance the quality of teaching and learning activities. He noted there is a need to review and proactively propose a mechanism on tuition fees, ensure an adequate number of teachers and school facilities, and promote digital learning materials and the online learning method. The spending on education must increase to ensure the quality of education, but the contribution of … [Read more...] about Vietnam’s education keeps international rankings despite COVID-19: Deputy PM

HCMC records a rising number of new pediatric Covid-19 cases In recent weeks, the number of Covid-19 cases in the southern metropolis has tended to increase rapidly, with an average of 144 new cases per day. Currently, the city is treating 44 cases of Covid-19 with mild and moderate symptoms including 11 children. Health experts predicted that the number of children infected with Covid-19 will continue to increase, and the best way to protect children now is to vaccinate them against the disease. According to Dr. Pham Thai Son, Deputy Head of the Covid-19 Treatment Department of the Children's Hospital 2, the hospital did not recorded any Covid-19 cases in the past month, but it admitted 22 children with Covid-19 in July. On average, the Hospital's Department of Examination received about 10 cases of Covid-19 every day, three or four of them were asked to be hospitalized. Children are hospitalized mainly because of cough, high fever, or other diseases such as sepsis, dengue … [Read more...] about HCMC records rising number of new pediatric Covid-19 cases

Nearly 30,000 farmed lobsters have died for unknown reasons in the south-central Vietnamese province of Phu Yen after a tropical storm made its way into the country’s mainland earlier this week. Some 29,240 lobsters and 1,220 groupers and barramundi raised in 385 farming rafts in Song Cau Town, Phu Yen had died as of Wednesday, Nguyen Van Lam, head of the provincial Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, confirmed a day later. The damage was estimated at nearly VND2.5 billion (US$106,850). With appropriate measures, local farmers managed to stop the mass mortality on Thursday, which could be attributed to Storm Mulan , according to the provincial Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine. The dead lobsters showed no signs of suffering from diseases. Storm Mulan, the second hitting Vietnam this year, weakened into a tropical depression early on Thursday morning after bringing rough seas and strong waves to the East Vietnam Sea on Wednesday … [Read more...] about Farmed lobsters die en masse following storm in south-central Vietnam

There are five vaccines being in the research and clinical trial process, namely Nanocovax, COVIVAC, ARCT-154, COVID-19 HIPRA and S-268019, the ministry said, adding the research is being conducted on schedule and in line with contents of the research plans approved by the ministry. The work is expected to complete in December next year. As of August 11, Vietnam received 253,071,094 doses of COVID-19 vaccine, including 234,636,494 for the people aged 12 and above, and 18,434,600 for children aged between 5-11. So far, as many as 249,778,892 doses have been administered to people nationwide, with 100% of people aged over 18 years old; and from 12 to under 18 getting the first and second injections. The vaccination rate of 3rd and 4th shots in the over-18-year-old group reached 73.9% and 57.4%, respectively. In July, as many as 13.4 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine were administered to people nationwide, up 2.1 million compared to June, the ministry said. Localities across the … [Read more...] about Progress in research, clinical trials of domestic COVID-19 vaccines updated

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam speaks at the conference (Photo: VNA) Dam made the comment at a conference held by the Ministry of Education and Training in Hanoi on August 12 to review outcomes of the past academic year and deploy tasks for the coming one. The official requested that the sector continue with comprehensive reforms to enhance the quality of teaching and learning activities. He noted there is a need to review and proactively propose a mechanism on tuition fees, ensure an adequate number of teachers and school facilities, and promote digital learning materials and the online learning method. The spending on education must increase to ensure the quality of education, but the contribution of students' families should not increase, the Deputy PM said. At the event (Photo: VNA) According to Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son, in the 2022-2023 academic year, the sector prioritises completing mechanisms and intuitions; improving the quality … [Read more...] about Vietnam’s education keeps international rankings despite Covid-19: Deputy PM

Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto (Photo: republika.co.id) Jakarta (VNA) – Indonesia ’s Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto announced on August 11 that the government is preparing to stop allocating the budget for COVID-19 handling and national economic recovery ( PC-PEN ) from the end of this year. According to him, based on Law No. 2 of 2020 concerning State Finance and Financial System Stability for COVID-19 Handling Efforts, the state budget deficit has been allowed to exceed 3 percent of the national gross domestic product (GDP) for three years till 2022 The government will not allocate a budget for COVID-19 handling and national economic recovery, but this does not mean that it will not continue its programmes in the health and social protection sectors, the minister clarified, adding that the fund will entirely be returned to each sector like before the COVID-19 broke out. Earlier, Finance Minister Sri … [Read more...] about Indonesia announces end of pandemic handling fund