Ho Chi Minh City has been re-classified as having a low coronavirus risk, three months after its reopening and adaptation to life with Covid-19. The municipal People’s Committee said 3,244 Covid-19 cases had been recorded in the southern city from Dec. 31, 2021 to Jan. 1, 2022. The previous week, …
Read More »HCMC Covid deaths at 6-month low
Ho Chi Minh City recorded 20 Covid-19 deaths Friday, the lowest toll since mid-July when the outbreak was at its peak. The numbers had been 21 on Thursday and 25 on Wednesday, Pham Duc Hai, deputy head of the city Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control and Economic Recovery, …
Read More »US ends 2021 with disappointing job growth ahead of Omicron surge
The U.S. economy ended 2021 on a sour note with a worse-than-expected employment report Friday underscoring the challenges awaiting President Joe Biden in the new year, as the Omicron variant runs rampant and his legislative agenda stalls. The world’s largest economy gained only 199,000 jobs in the final month of …
Read More »World passes 300 million Covid cases as Omicron breaks records
The total number of Covid-19 cases registered worldwide passed 300 million on Friday, with the Omicron variant’s rapid spread setting new infection records in dozens of countries over the last week. In the past seven days, 34 countries have recorded their highest number of weekly cases since the start of …
Read More »Stress replaces relief as foreigners make travel plans
The relief at Vietnam resuming regular international flights is turning into stress over uncertainties as foreigners make travel plans to and from Vietnam. “I have booked tickets to Hanoi from California, the U.S., but I have no information about immigration approval,” said Jack Chan, a Hong Kong American hoping to …
Read More »Company director inflates Covid test kit price for $35 mln bonus to partners
A company director has admitted to inflating the price of a Covid-19 test kit by 45 percent and sending around VND800 billion ($35.2 million) as “bonuses” to its partners. Phan Quoc Viet, general director of the medical tech firm Viet A Technology Corporation, admitted to have inflated the price of …
Read More »Vietnam records 16,254 new Covid-19 cases
Health authorities announced 16,254 Covid-19 domestic cases Friday in 59 cities and provinces, with Hanoi still in the lead. Hanoi recorded 2,723 cases, followed by Hai Phong with 795 and Khanh Hoa with 790. The death toll since the pandemic started has risen to 33,877 after 233 deaths were announced …
Read More »HCMC shortens Covid home quarantine to 10 days
Ho Chi Minh City has reduced the home quarantine duration for Covid-19 cases from 14 to 10 days as the coronavirus situation in the city is put under control. In a new healthcare guideline for Covid-19 patients at home, issued by the HCMC Department of Health on Thursday, coronavirus cases …
Read More »Bitcoin slumps to lowest since September
Bitcoin Friday slumped as much as 5 percent to its lowest since late September, tumbling under $41,000 amid a broader sell-off for cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin was last down 3.7 percent after touching $40,938, its lowest since Sept. 29. The world’s biggest cryptocurrency has lost over 40 percent since hitting a record …
Read More »WHO optimistic Beijing Winter Olympics can take place safely
Beijing’s plans to ensure next month’s 2022 Winter Olympics go ahead safely during the Covid-19 pandemic look strong, the World Health Organization said Thursday. WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan said the UN health agency had worked with the International Olympic Committee to provide technical advice on the safe hosting of …
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