Vietnam elephant

While the number of COVID-19 cases is increasing globally, rapidly changing on an hourly and daily basis which can be tracked almost in real time, the incidence, infection burden and fatality rates in Vietnam are still low. Vietnam declared COVID-19 a nationwide epidemic on April 1. By October 15, 2020, Vietnam reported 1,122 cases with 35 deaths (WHO 2020). With approximately 97 million inhabitants, the Southeast Asian nation has conducted 12,772 tests/1 million. According to the WHO classification, Vietnam reports transmission from clusters of cases and not by community transmission or sporadic cases. Vietnam lifted its social isolation measures when schools and businesses reopened after International Labour Day, but continued to reduce risk through the mandatory use of face masks. The speed of response was the crucial factor. The Vietnamese government has been instrumental in identifying and demarcating infection clusters and has responded well to the COVID-19 situation and handling of COVID-19 in terms of the WHO test, treat and track approach (T3). For example, COVID-19 reappeared in the city of Da Nang in late July 2020, where the first two deaths of COVID-19 were reported. The entire city was placed under strict lockdown exceeding 45 days. Public transportation was shut down, severely restricting population movements and, thus, stopping the wave of transmissions of COVID-19 in communities. Vietnam has adopted extensive approaches in its intense fight against the pandemic. In particular, it has adopted a fairly good and comprehensive approach from the early stages of the epidemic, as it has begun early identification of contact persons, quarantine measures, timeliness, efficient mobilization of state agencies and a progressive policy of social distancing. Measures to identify those who have been infected or even exposed at airports and quarantine measures have also been efficiently managed to date. The country is very rigorous with its case control …

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The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) stipulates that players cannot be quarantined for more than four days when they visit a country for a match, but in Vietnam the requirement is 14 days. Saigon had expressed a desire to play host, but that honors falls on Singaporean club Lion City Sailors, who have met all the AFC’s requirements. Besides Saigon and Lion City Sailors, Group H also consists of Malaysian club Kedah and a qualifier. The games will be played from June 22 to 28. This is Saigon’s maiden appearance in the event -- they qualified by finishing third in the V. League last year -- but, with weaker opponents in the group, are expected to sail through to the next round. The host of group G, in which Hanoi FC take on Indonesia’s Bali United, Cambodia's Boeung Ket and the play-off winner, has yet to be decided. This is Hanoi’s fifth appearance in the AFC Cup. They finished second in the V. League and won the National Cup last year. Vietnam’s representative in the top-flight AFC Champions League, Viettel FC, will play their group matches in Bangkok from April 21 to May 7. This year, the AFC Cup group stage has been expanded by three teams to 39 with a new Central Asia Zone group. The first and second placed teams in each group will advance to the next round. The champions will be awarded a spot in the preliminary stage of 2022 AFC Champions League. …

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Illustrative image (Photo: VNA) HCM City (VNA) - The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) has urged localities to adopt drastic measures to fight irregular, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. All Vietnamese fishermen, businesses, and local authorities must consider this an important and urgent task to affirm the prestige of Vietnam’s fisheries sector in the world and among countries it shares territorial waters with, and be resolved to meet the standards set by the European Commission (EC). Since the EC gave a “yellow card” warning to Vietnam’s fisheries and seafood in the European market in October 2017, the entire sector has suffered marked losses. Tran Dinh Luan, head of the ministry’s Directorate of Fisheries, said it is necessary to prevent, deter, and eliminate IUU fishing in order to remove the “yellow card” warning, develop fisheries responsibly, and integrate into the world. This is also the guideline of the Party and State, as reflected through the Law on Fisheries. Since the imposition of the EC warning, Vietnam’s fishery export value to Europe has fallen by between 6 and 10 percent annually. From being the second-largest importer of Vietnam’s seafood, with value representing 17-20 percent of Vietnam’s total export revenue, the EU now ranks fifth, after Japan, the US, the Republic of Korea (RoK), and ASEAN. The Government and the National Steering Committee on IUU Fishing Prevention have issued a range of documents instructing ministries, agencies, and People’s Committees in 28 coastal cities and provinces to drastically take preventive measures. The MARD has conducted regular inspections in localities. The EC has highly valued Vietnam’s political determination to implement its recommendations in this regard. Vietnam has openly and transparently announced the results of inspections of seafood exports to the EU and has completed a legal framework that serves as a foundation to materialise relevant …

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