Buddhists pray online due to COVID-19 outbreak Blood shortage warned as donations postponed due to COVID-19 outbreaks The resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic in many cities and provinces in recent weeks has seriously affected the blood supply for medical treatment. Although many people and organisations responded to the call of blood donation by the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion (NIHBT) on February 19, the amount of blood received per day was still only a few hundred units while the average need for treatment each day is from 1,200 to 1,500 units. There is usually a shortage of blood during the Tết (Lunar New Year) holiday as the holiday lasts long while blood has a short shelf life and many patients still need blood transfusions during Tết. This year, the pandemic's resurgence has made the shortage after Tết even worse. Before Tết, 30 entities requested to postpone or cancel blood donation plans which meant the NIHBT missed out on receiving more than 8,000 units. After the holiday, the institute received information about the delay of 24 more blood donation plans from now to the end of March with an expected donation of 5,000 units. In addition, the blood donation schedule in March cannot be confirmed because it depends on the university and college's return to the school schedule. This means the blood reserves of the institute are decreasing. If this situation continues, blood reserves will decrease to an alarming threshold, fell into a state of scarcity and seriously affect the blood supply to health facilities. The Institute’s director Bạch Quốc Khánh said: “The estimated blood demand for emergency and treatment in February and March of the institute is about 50,000 units.” “With blood donation schedules maintained up to now, there was still a shortage of about 20,000 units, seriously affecting the provision of 177 medical facilities in 28 provinces and cities in the north with about 41 million …
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January 11-17: Party Central Committee plenum completes preparations for 13th Congress
Party Central Committee plenum completes preparations for 13th Congress The 15th plenum of the Party Central Committee took place on January 16-17 with the completion of all the contents of its agenda. At the plenum, the last of the 12th tenure, the Committee discussed and passed the lists of first-time nominees and the special cases to the Committee of the coming 13th tenure, as well as that of the nominees to the key leading positions of the Party and the State, among others. The Committee also adopted reports from the Politburo on the nominees to the presidium, the secretariat and the eligibility verification board on the delegates of the coming 13th Congress, which is scheduled to start on January 25. Top leader holds phone talks with new Secretary General of Lao People’s Revolutionary Party Party General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong (Photo: VNA) Party General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong held phone talks with newly-elected General Secretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP) Central Committee Thongloun Sisoulith. During the talks, Party leader Trong congratulated the LPRP on the successful organisation of the 11th National Congress and Sisoulith on his election to the Party General Secretary post. He expressed his hope that under the leadership of the LPRP and General Secretary Sisoulith, the Lao people will gain greater achievements in the national building and defence and renewal cause. Sisoulith, in turn, thanked Vietnamese leaders for sending congratulatory messages to the LPRP and him, and briefed Trong on the outcomes of the just-ended 11th National Party Congress of Laos. Programme calls for help to the poor A programme was held in Hanoi by the Vietnam Red Cross (VRC) calling for help for the poor and the victims of Agent Orange as the Lunar New Year, the most important annual festival for Vietnamese, approaches. At the event, National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim …
Vietnam set for hospitality recovery in 2021: Savills
At Bai Dai Beach in Cam Ranh City (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - January started on a positive note, with city hotels seeing increased MICE and event bookings, while in some resorts corporate bookings started to return, according to Savills Vietnam . “The market in 2021 is expected to be broadly similar with most of 2020, at least until borders reopen to leisure and business trade. Hotels have adapted by considerably reducing operating costs to establish lower breakeven points. The good news is that several destinations are still performing at acceptable levels,” Mauro Gasparotti , Director of Savills Hotels APAC, said. Performance in December and January was positive for destinations like Phu Quoc or Vung Tau, which have the essential appeals to both local leisure travellers and year-end company trips. In addition, over the past few months there has been very encouraging growth of MICE demand in city hotels. Some city hotels have used promotions, such as “staycation” packages, or F&B deals to nurture local demand, which have supported performance, he said. According to Gasparotti, the market is in a slow recovery. Local demand, even if delivering a strong rebound, has not proven steady enough to support hotel and resort performance. Weekends have been acceptable, but weekday demand is low. Most hotels, by cutting costs, have tried to find lower operational breakeven points, and only a few will be able to see a decent result for 2020. Expectations for 2021 are positive but mainly focused on the third quarter and fourth quarter when travel restrictions are anticipated to be eased, with corporate guests and independent travellers from neighbouring countries able to return and partially support the hotel and resort market. The recent outbreaks of COVID-19 in Hai Duong and Quang Ninh have seen preventative measures reinstated across the country. Van Don International Airport was closed after 10 security personnel were found to be infected. In …
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