Covid-19 situation:

Vietnam Nationwide

• Despite impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the inflow of foreign direct investment into Vietnam still rose 4.4 percent year on year in the first nine months of this year to $22.15 billion, the Vietnam News Agencyreported on October 13.
• Over 157,000 internal migrant workers in southern Vietnam, which is heavily impacted by COVID-19, have got back to their hometowns since October 1, according to data the Ministry of Health collected from 39 provinces and cities. More than 1,000 of them have tested positive for the coronavirus.
• The Government Office on October 8 approved a pilot plan to reopen routes connecting several provinces and cities whose airport operators accept regular domestic passenger flights without requiring centralized quarantine from October 10 to 20.
• Vietnamese airlines failed to operate many flights on October 10, the first day some selected domestic routes were resumed, due to the complicated quarantine regulations at their destinations, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam.

Ho Chi Minh City

• A total of 608,400 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine arrived on October 8 in Ho Chi Minh City, according to the U.S. Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City.
• AmCham Vietnam’s members have donated over VND5.2 billion (US$228,661) worth of critically needed medical equipment to six COVID-19 treatment hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City, the U.S. Consulate General said on October 13.
• GrabCar services have been resumed since October 7 in Ho Chi Minh City following a long hiatus because of COVID-19.
• The Ministry of Health will withdraw its support forces in Ho Chi Minh City by October 15 as the COVID-19 pandemic has shown signs of subsiding.
• Long haul buses between Ho Chi Minh City and other localities are expected to resume operations from October 13.

Hanoi

• Hanoi has further relaxed its coronavirus social distancing restrictions on October 14, with accommodation and dine-in services allowed to reopen at half of their normal capacity.
• Experts have suggested that Hanoi authorities consider allowing local students to come back to school as the COVID-19 pandemic in the capital has been gradually put under control.
• Air travelers from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi are now only required to quarantine at their home or accommodation establishments for seven days, according to a new decision announced by the Hanoi People’s Committee.
• Hanoi’s Noi Bai International Airport has established a monitoring center with 2,000 surveillance cameras to document human contact at the airdrome, which will help with possible attempts of COVID-19 contact tracing in the future.

Khanh Hoa (Nha Trang)

• Khanh Hoa’s vaccination rate has ranked 6th nationwide. 26,511 doses of Covid-19 vaccines were administered in Khanh Hoa on October 13, raising the total to 898,041 doses, accounting for nearly 99% of the adult population, including 368,605 second shots, making up nearly 35%.
• After many months of facing the outbreak of the Covid-19 epidemic, the economy of Khanh Hoa Province was severely affected. To achieve the highest socio-economic results in 2021, the Provincial People’s Committee has proposed key solutions, focusing on economic recovery in the last quarter of 2021.

Da Nang

• Da Nang had seen no local transmission of COVID-19 for 13 consecutive days as of October 13, while 95 percent of residents aged above 18 had been vaccinated with at least one vaccine dose.
• The Routes, a UK-based aviation networking event organizer, has announced Da Nang City in central Vietnam as the host of its16th annual air route development forum called Routes Asia 2022.
• Tropical Storm Lionrock is expected to weaken into a tropical depression before making landfall in northern Vietnam on October 10, the National Center for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting reported, adding that a new storm, named Kompasu, will enter the East Vietnam Sea around October 11.