Vietnam News Today (August 21): Hanoi extends social distancing until first week of September; Military to oversee food provision in HCM City during lockdown; HCM City: Vaccinations for people aged 12-18 may be available from September; Government leader suggests AstraZeneca speeds up vaccine delivery to Vietnam.

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Vietnam News Today (August 18): Hanoi Students to Begin School Year on September 1

Vietnam News Today (August 21) notable headlines

Hanoi extends social distancing until first week of September

Military to oversee food provision in HCM City during lockdown: PM

HCM City: Vaccinations for people aged 12-18 may be available from September

Government leader suggests AstraZeneca to speed up vaccine delivery to Vietnam

Vietnamese-made NanoDragon satellite scheduled to be launched on October 1

Vietnam to attend 42nd AIPA General Assembly from August 23-25

Textile industry faces challenges in meeting export target

First mobile medical station set up in HCM City

Son La exports 10 tonnes of red-flesh dragon fruit to Russia

Police officers patrol on a Hanoi street amid a Covid-19 social distancing order, August 17, 2021. Photo: VnExpress

Hanoi extends social distancing until first week of September

Hanoi will extend its social distancing order until September 6 as the novel coronavirus threat persists, local authorities have said.

The capital has gone nearly a month under a citywide social distancing order starting July 24, the longest such period since the novel coronavirus first appeared in the country.

The ongoing restrictions will continue to apply: people should stay at home and only go out for necessities like buying food or medicines or for working at factories or businesses that are allowed to open, cited VnExpress.

Tran Dac Phu, former head of the General Department of Preventive Medicine, said it was already a success that Hanoi has prevented the coronavirus from spiraling out of control.

The capital city has already succeeded in containing outbreaks and cutting transmission chains, he said.

Hanoi is ramping up mass Covid-19 testing to isolate cases from the community. It is also establishing "safe zones" where neighborhoods can manage who goes in and out.

The capital has recorded 2,644 local Covid-19 cases since the fourth coronavirus wave hit the country late April.

Military to oversee food provision in HCM City during lockdown: PM

The military will coordinate with local authorities and other agencies to ensure food supply for HCMC residents during its social distancing period, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said Thursday.

He said people must "stay where they are" and abide by coronavirus control measures. Authorities also need to ensure food supply and needed welfare for the people while ramping up Covid-19 tests to isolate cases from the community.

If there's a lack of personnel to ensure social distancing measures, the police and military may lend a hand if needed, the PM said.

A military officer checks the travel paper of a truck at a Covid-19 checkpoint in HCMC. Photo: VnExpress

The military in particular would be responsible for ensuring food supply for the people, cooperating with local authorities and other forces, he added.

The police need to monitor the situation to maintain order, and facilitate food supply for the homeless and other vulnerable people, reported VnExpress.

Reinforcements would be deployed to boost medical capabilities in the city, ensuring sufficient supply of oxygen tanks, medical equipment and health workers.

The PM has also asked authorities to look into the possibility of relocating people away from certain areas to reduce population density within a given area. Military camps, schools and other facilities could be used for such relocations, he suggested.

Around 200 special teams would be formed to ensure compliance with social distancing measures as well as sufficient food supply for HCMC residents.

HCMC is set to further tighten coronavirus restrictions starting August 23, requiring people to "stay where they are" as the Covid-19 threat persists, according to the Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control.

Specific details about who are allowed to go out as well as how people can access food and other essentials will be announced once the plan is completed, said Phan Nguyen Nhu Khue, head of the Propaganda Department of the municipal Party Committee.

HCMC, epicenter of Vietnam's fourth coronavirus wave, has so far recorded 167,717 local cases and 5,939 deaths.

The city of 13 million has undergone a series of social distancing orders, with the latest one being extended until September 15. People are also banned from going out between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. the next day, except for certain cases like medical emergencies.

The government has said it wants HCMC to get the coronavirus situation under control by September 15.

HCM City: Vaccinations for people aged 12-18 may be available from September

Ho Chi Minh City plans to begin vaccinating people aged 12-18 from September if there is a suitable vaccine source, according to city authorities.

Nguyen Thanh Phong, Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee, said the city targets vaccinating more than 3 million doses to ensure at least 70 percent of people aged 18 and above get one dose and one million get two doses by August 31.

Photo: baochinhphu

From September 1-15, the city will administer vaccine for the remaining people, and may inoculate children from 12-18 years old if it can acquire vaccines permitted for use for this age group.

As of August 18, more than 5.06 million people in HCM City had been vaccinated. The Health Ministry has so far allocated 4.4 million doses to the city and donors 2 million doses of Vero Cell.

The city will publicize all information related to vaccinations to ensure transparency, VNA reported.

The city administration has asked the Vaccination Working Group to negotiate and secure more vaccines and the Coordination Centre for Covid-19 Vaccinations to work with agencies to advise the city on the vaccination scheme.

HCM City, Vietnam’s current largest Covid-19 hotspot, has so far recorded over 164,000 infections.

Government leader suggests AstraZeneca to speed up vaccine delivery to Vietnam

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh asked CEO of AstraZeneca Pascal Soriot to speed up vaccine delivery to Vietnam during a virtual phone conversation held on August 19.

The Vietnamese Government chief hailed AstraZeneca’s role and contributions to the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic in the world and in Vietnam, while affirming that the AstraZeneca vaccine is one of the most widely used vaccines in the world, accounting for more than 65% of the vaccines that Vietnam has received so far, making an important contribution to the Covid-19 containment efforts globally and in the country.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh asks CEO of AstraZeneca Pascal Soriot to accelerate the delivery of vaccines to Vietnam during their phone talks held on August 19. Photo: VOV

Amid complicated development of the Covid-19 pandemic, Chinh emphasized that the Vietnamese Government is full of determination to carry out the vaccine strategy in a bid to bring vaccines to Vietnam in the largest volume and at the earliest to continue launching the largest ever vaccination campaign in history, cited VOV.

He asked the AstraZeneca official to pay attention to directing and accelerating the delivery of vaccines to Vietnam, with the effort to complete its commitment to deliver 8 million doses in August, and at the same time finalizing a contract to supply more vaccines to the nation in September 2021 and beyond.

Chinh proposed AstraZeneca to discuss with other countries the possibility of borrowing or repurchasing the vaccines that those countries do not need at present, while fast-tracking the implementation of contracts on vaccines for children and those aged below 18, and those at high risk and suffering underlying diseases.

The Vietnamese Government always encourages and create favorable conditions for foreign firms to operate and expand operations in Vietnam in pharmaceuticals and health care, he said, emphasizing that the country desires to reinforce strategic, comprehensive and long-term partnership with AstraZeneca not only in vaccines.

Vietnamese-made NanoDragon satellite scheduled to be launched on October 1

Vietnam’s NanoDragon satellite will be launch into outer space between 7:48-7:59am on October 1 (Hanoi time), according to the Vietnam National Space Centre (VNSC) under the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology.

The center said that it received a notification from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) on the launching plan on August 20.

Japan’s Epsilon rocket is expected to launch NanoDragon from the Japanese southern prefecture of Kagoshima. NanoDragon is among nine satellites that the rocket carries. The rest are made by Japan. NanoDragon is expected to be launched into orbit at the height of about 560km, reported VNA.

NanoDragon satellite officially transferred to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency on August 17. Photo: Vietnam National Space Centre

Earlier, NanoDragon satellite was delivered to Japan on August 11 and tested at Uchinoura Space Centre in Kagoshima prefecture from August 16-17 before being officially transferred to the JAXA for launching under the second "Innovative satellite technology demonstration" program.

The satellite is the product of a project to design, manufacture, launch and test operation of a nano-sized micro-satellite under the national space science and technology program in the 2016-2020 period.

The process of researching, designing, integrating, and testing the satellite's functions was carried out completely in Vietnam by VNSC researchers.

The satellite was developed with the purpose of demonstrating it could use micro-satellite beam technology to receive the Automatic Identification System (AIS) signal to track and monitor activities at sea.

Previously, the VNSC also successfully developed the 1-kg-microsatellite PicoDragon and the 50-kg satellite MicroDragon, which were launched into orbit in 2013 and 2019, respectively.

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Rosie Nguyen