Saigon times daily

SEOUL -- South Korea's daily COVID-19 infections topped 3,000 for the first time as an outbreak fuelled by this week's three-day holiday spreads, authorities said on Saturday. Friday's 3,273 coronavirus cases surpassed the previous high a day earlier, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said, taking the nation's tally to 298,402 infections and 2,441 deaths. Domestically transmitted cases accounted for 3,245 of the new infections, while 28 were imported. More than 77% of the former were in Seoul and areas neighbouring the capital, which is home to about half the population of 52 million. "We estimate that the surge in travel during the Thanksgiving holiday, as well as the increase in person-to-person contact, could be major reasons for the sharp increase," said the agency's director, Jeong Eun-kyeong. The current outbreak of the highly infectious Delta variant has contributed to the jump in infections, she told a briefing. Daily infections may continue to …

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People are brought back to their hometowns from Mien Dong Bus Station during social distancing. (Photo: SGGP) According to the HCMC Department of Transport, to create favorable conditions for workers to return to work when the city restores economic activities, the department has coordinated with relevant departments to develop a plan to ensure safety and comply with regulations on pandemic prevention. Subjects in the transportation plan are workers of HCMC-based enterprises and cooperatives, including workers and experts, in provinces and cities that need to return to HCMC. Accordingly, to return to HCMC, workers must meet the following conditions: they must have a work plan confirmed by enterprises or cooperatives in writing and be vaccinated with the first dose for at least 14 days or recovered from Covid-19 with confirmation by medical authority. They must have a negative Covid-19 test result that is still valid as prescribed. Workers must be allowed to travel by the …

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However, Covid checkpoints at gateways leading to HCMC would be still maintained, Tran Hoang Ngan, director of the HCMC Institute for Development Studies, and also a member of the prime minister's advisory group, said at an online meeting on Saturday about the city's economic recovery plan in the "new normalcy" period. "We would remove barriers installed in the inner area by September 30 to enter the new normalcy period from October 1 while Covid checkpoints would be installed at gateways to ensure the safety of the entire southern economic zone," Ngan said, adding that top city leaders have agreed on this issue at a meeting on Friday. "This would be a positive sign," Ngan said. Bui Ta Hoang Vu, head of the city's Department of Trade, said in the coming time the city plans to check people's departure and destination points, instead of inspecting travel documents on the road as previously. Road barriers would be removed; instead, functional forces would carry out random rapid …

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The US’s Montana University has organized a three-week fact-finding trip to the eastern region of Vietnam for 20 students who study the environment, to give them an opportunity to learn about the climate, nature, and the lives of people in this part of Vietnam. During the trip to different localities such as Soc Trang, Bac Lieu, Kien Giang, and An Giang, the participants were surprised to see animal species that they have never seen with their own eyes before. Prof. Dan Spencer from the university said that this is the fourth time he has chosen the eastern region for his students to explore because the region is home to various kinds of fish, creatures, and insects that could not be seen anywhere else. The US students in a field trip Many students also showed their excitement to learn about customs and daily activities of people in the region. They were provided with fishing techniques and learnt how to hang mosquito nets to prevent malaria. Antonio …

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In general, the COVID-19 pandemic in Ho Chi Minh City and the Southern provinces has been gradually controlled. The number of infected cases and deaths has decreased, while the number of recovered cases has increased. Nevertheless, the number of COVID-19 patients recorded daily is still high, affecting the implementation of military-defense missions. The MND’s Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control was established under urgent conditions, but it has performed well its tasks in the spirit of “fighting the pandemic like fighting the enemy” while promoting the pioneering role of the military in the fight against the disease. In the COVID-19 fight in Ho Chi Minh City and Southern provinces, the military has sent a large number of troops and vehicles to both ensure security and social order and implement COVID-19 prevention and control. Military units have also promoted the Party and political work to raise troops’ awareness of their noble missions on the front-line of …

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