Travel

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 …

[Read more...] about HCMC plans to remove barriers, travel permits by end-September

The resumption of domestic flights would be divided into four phases, according to a draft on the plan to resume transportation across localities with relaxed Covid-19 restrictions discussed Saturday. In the first phase, to be carried out in no more than 10 days, airlines would be allowed to resume air routes with a flight frequency not exceeding half that in the first 10 days of April, the time before the fourth coronavirus wave hit Vietnam. Seats on the planes must be distanced as well. In the second phase, also to be carried out in no more than 10 days, the frequency would be increased to not exceed 70 percent. The third phase would see flight frequency return to the level as seen in the first week of April (but not exceeding it), with no seat distancing required. The final phase would see airlines resume activities as normal. Air routes that had only one flight a day even pre-pandemic can resume operations as normal in all phases, with seat distancing required. …

[Read more...] about Transport ministry outlines domestic flight resumption phases

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 …

[Read more...] about HCMC plans to receive workers back for work from October 1

Bidoup Nui Ba National Park was established in 2004 and is named after the two highest peaks on the Langbiang plateau: Bidoup (2,287 meters) and Nui Ba (2,167 meters). In 2019, it was added to the list of ASEAN heritage parks. Around 50 kilometers from downtown Da Lat, the park boasts a rich biodiversity, green pine forests and lots of fresh air. Guest accommodation inside the national park includes 60 airy rooms. With a capacity of more than 100 people, it regularly hosts scientific expeditions. Green-backed tit (Parus monticolus) perches on a branch. The species has a black head with white cheeks and pale yellow underparts. The female has yellower underparts with a smaller black stripe. In Vietnam, it always appears on the Da Lat plateau. The plumbeous water redstart (Phoenicurus fuliginosus) is easily captured on the way from Highway 27C leading to the national park. The …

[Read more...] about A wildlife kingdom in the Central Highlands

Da Nang honours FDI firms with outstanding contributions to COVID-19 prevention and control in the city (Photo: VNA) At a meeting with municipal authorities on September 24, they asked for the city's help in regular COVID-19 testing fees for their workers, and favourable conditions for foreign experts to enter the city and the transport of goods. They also hoped to be updated with pandemic control regulations of the city. Kim Jinmo, Vice Director of the Korea Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) in Da Nang said that Korean businesses support the city's pandemic fight, but the quick change in pandemic response policies makes it hard for them to adjust. He said as the pandemic has basically been contained, the city should build a scenario for safely adapting to the pandemic and maintaining production at the same time. Ciprian Bota, Director for Production of Universal Alloy Corporation urged the city to give priority to giving the second shot of vaccine to workers so …

[Read more...] about FDI businesses contribute ideas for production restoration in Da Nang

Ashley Griffith, an English teacher from Manchester, England, who currently works in Vietnam, runs a Tik Tok channel showcasing what he truly loves about living in Vietnam. Griffith first began documenting his life in Vietnam after a student shared that he wanted to move to England. “[My student] said ‘I want to move there because everything is better in England and people say Vietnam isn’t a good country’,” he said. “Hearing those words made me upset because I’m an Englishman who wholeheartedly loves Vietnam. After that, I decided to dedicate my Tik Tok to showcasing everything that I love about Vietnam, including the food, landscape, people, and even fashion. The list is endless. “Now, I hope that student can see how magnificent Vietnam truly is, and how many amazing opportunities there are on offer here,” he added. In the year since he’s launched his @ashlongvn on Tik Tok, Ashley Griffith has earned a fandom of more than 223,000 followers. 97 percent of his views come …

[Read more...] about Englishman’s viral videos show ‘how magnificent Vietnam truly is’

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 …

[Read more...] about S.Korea’s daily COVID-19 cases top 3,000 for first time after holiday