Illustrative image. (Photo: SGGP) The People's Committee of HCMC said that the disbursement rate of the Public Investment Plan in 2022 is not much compared to previous years due to many difficulties and obstacles, but mainly the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021. The restart of the construction of projects in the first months of 2022 experienced a certain delay after the time the city adopted measures to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic. In addition, input costs were unstable and tended to increase. Besides the above objective reasons, the People's Committee of HCMC also raised some other subjective reasons affecting the disbursement progress of public investment capital, for example, difficulties related to site clearance; it is necessary to have time to carry out the project adjustment procedures on the basis of Resolution No.99/NQ-HDND dated October 19, 2021, of the People's Council of HCMC and Decision No.4354/QD-UBND dated December 28, 2021, on the medium-term capital … [Read more...] about HCMC disburses only 17 percent of public investment capital in first six months
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China halves quarantine time for overseas travellers
China on Tuesday reduced the length of mandatory quarantine for inbound travellers, in the biggest relaxation of entry restrictions after sticking to a rigid zero Covid policy throughout the pandemic. The new guideline cuts the length of mandatory quarantine for overseas travellers to seven days plus three more of home monitoring -- a drastic drop from about 21 days of quarantine and home monitoring combined. China closed off its international borders in March 2020 and the number of international flights is still tightly restricted in an effort to tamp down "imported" virus cases as the pandemic rages elsewhere. Overseas arrivals have faced weeks of strict monitoring and costly quarantine in hotels and designated centres, as well as soaring ticket prices for the slashed number of flights. Under the latest Covid prevention and control policy guidelines announced by the National Heath Commission and the State Council, inbound travellers entering China will now be required to … [Read more...] about China halves quarantine time for overseas travellers
Hanoi health workers quit in droves over heavy workload, low pay
A report by Hanoi People's Committee on June 20 revealed 532 medical personnel had quit last year, while 82 decided to switch workplaces. In the first four months of this year, 226 have quit and 17 switched workplaces, the report added. Hanoi said the medical field has focused all its resources on fighting the pandemic since 2020. Due to the low number of workers, the sheer amount of workload and lower incomes and benefits in public facilities, many are opting to quit or seek better opportunities. Hoa, the former head of a ward medical station in Dong Da District, said her workload was too much while her salary wasn't enough to make a living. She quit at the end of March. During the height of the pandemic, Hoa and her colleagues did contact tracing and vaccination day in and day out. Pressure was building up, yet they only got a "bonus" of VND500,000 ($21.50). Her colleagues, a married couple, only got VND8 million a month in total. Amid a worker exodus in the medical field and … [Read more...] about Hanoi health workers quit in droves over heavy workload, low pay