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 …
Weather vietnam december january
VIETNAM BUSINESS NEWS FEBRUARY 11
Ministry to boost trade defence measures in line with int’l commitments Workers loading coils on trucks at a steel mill in northern Viet Nam. An early warning system on trade remedy risks for certain exports will be completed this year so that enterprises can gear themselves up early. — Photo baodautu.vn Le Trieu Dung, Director of the MoIT’s Trade Remedies Authority of Vietnam (TRAV), said the ministry will accelerate current trade remedy probes into imports so as to take timely action to protect domestic manufacturers. An early warning system on trade remedy risks for certain exports will be completed this year so that enterprises can gear themselves up early. Additionally, MoIT will coordinate with relevant agencies to boost action against origin fraud and illegal transhipments aimed at evading trade remedies, while working to improve the trade remedy-related capacity of domestic businesses and State agencies, Dung said. Since becoming a member of the WTO and free trade agreements (FTAs), Viet Nam has opened its market and slashed import tariffs on a large number of goods, exposing its businesses to strong competition from imports. Trade defence measures, which are policy tools permitted by the WTO, he said, have an important role to play in ensuring effective economic integration and minimising its adverse impact on businesses. Between 2016 and 2020, MoIT launched 13 trade remedy investigations into imported commodities such as DAP fertiliser, monosodium glutamate (MSG), steel, and BOPP film. Remedies applied so far have proved effective in addressing losses caused by surges of imports and protecting domestic producers, he said. He pointed out that State agencies and some enterprises have worked to promote their trade remedy-related capacity, but many shortcomings remain, so a new policy and legal framework that matches provisions in the FTAs Viet Nam has joined is needed. The issue of trade defence as stipulated in Chapter 5 …
VIETNAM NEWS FEBRUARY 13
Young people join hands to keep Central Highlands green Young people in HCM City take part in a project to plant trees in Đắk Nông Province. — Photo sggp.org.vn Tree-planting projects to protect the environment have become increasingly popular among young people from HCM City. Their projects have not only contributed to increasing forest coverage on barren hills but also brought economic benefits to local people. The project 'Garden-Forest' was launched by JOY (Journey Of Youth) - a volunteer group in collaboration with the group named 'Planting one million trees per year' and Bù Gia Mập National Park to plant trees on farmers' land in Central Highlands provinces. The volunteers have also worked with agricultural experts to teach organic farming techniques to farmers, helping them have a stable income. Before planting trees, the young people studied the local climate and soil to choose suitable trees and lived with the farmers to understand the steps for planting. Trúc Nguyên, a 19-year-old member of the project from Bình Thạnh District, told Sài Gòn Giải Phóng (Liberated Sài Gòn) newspaper: “This is the first time I know how to start a tree nursery and plant trees. It was quite hard work for the first time gardening but we are happy." Volunteers chose the rainy season to run the project to reduce the need for irrigation water. During a field trip, they also visited Gia Ân mangosteen farm, which has been granted a Global Good Agriculture Practices (GlobalGAP) certificate in Đắk Nông Province and listened to an agricultural expert who has worked at the farm for 20 years. “I know many green and afforestation projects but I still have not participated. These projects have just been rolled out once and don't have a long-term plan or seedlings management," said Đặng Khải An, a 21-year-old volunteer from Phú Nhuận District. "I decided to join this project because I not only want to contribute to planting more trees, but I also want to …
