President Nguyen Xuan Phuc visited and presented Lunar New Year (Tet) gifts to poor households and workers hit by COVID-19 and Agent Orange/dioxin in the central city of Da Nang on January 16.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Việt Nam (CAAV) has decided to increase the frequency of international flights to Japan, Korea, Taipei (China) and Singapore.

The Mekong Delta, which comprises 13 localities, is facing a severe shortage of human resources due to its population changes over the past years, which requires proper solutions and strategies to address.

The Drug Administration of Việt Nam has asked for measures to prevent shortages of medicines during the upcoming Tết (Lunar New Year) holiday and for COVID-19 prevention and control.

Economic and industrial parks nationwide drew 539 foreign-invested and 615 domestic projects with a total registered capital of USD 12.8 billion last year despite COVID-19 pandemic, up 15 percent annually, reported the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

HCM City’s health department on Sunday announced a total of 18 new Omicron cases, all imported cases that were quarantined on arrival.

The COVID-19 pandemic might not end this year and business sectors could not fully recover, however, the situation will be more positive than 2021 thanks to the adaptation to ‘new normal’ conditions, said General Director Nguyen Thi Huong of the General Statistics Office.

The National Fund for Vietnamese Children (NFVA) offered support to nearly 15,500 children hit by COVID-19 last year at a total cost of over 20.8 billion VND (904,000 USD), 2,930 of them were orphans and 520 had their mothers infected with the virus, said NFVA Director Hoang Van Tien.

HCM City will temporarily shut four COVID-19 field hospitals from January 19 since the pandemic situation is improving.

As of Saturday, 23 districts and towns in Hà Nội have been classed as yellow COVID risk areas (medium risk), while seven have been labelled orange (high risk).

Việt Nam has recorded a further imported Omicron case, an 82-year-old woman being treated at the HCM City Hospital for Tropical Diseases.

The High Command of Navy Region 4 said on January 15 that military medical staff have provided emergency treatment for a fisherman whose right hand was crushed while working at sea.

Police in northern Tuyen Quang province have arrested a 52-year-old man for making, storing, distributing or disseminating information, documents and items against the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam under Article 117 of the 2015 Penal Code.

The High Command of the Vietnam Coast Guard Region 1 has organised several activities to the tune of 200 million VND (8,800 USD) to support local residents in Bach Long Vi island district on the occasion of Tet (Lunar New Year).

The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) has devised specific solutions to ensure a warm Tet (Lunar New Year) festival for social policy beneficiaries, and support those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

A project on improving access to innovative therapies for high-risk breast cancer patients has gained remarkable results in Việt Nam despite the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic in the past year, participants heard at a conference in Hà Nội on Friday.

Experts have forecast that inflation will remain under control in 2022 although there will be pressure in the year. Nguyen Ba Minh, Director of the Institute of Economics and Finance, said the average consumer price index in 2022 will increase roughly 2-3 percent compared to 2021.

Trung Văn Nam, an air-conditioning fitter from central Thanh Hóa Province, has been given awards for his act of bravery in rescuing a girl from a house fire in Hà Nội’s Tương Mai Ward.

The capital city of Hanoi will quickly restore its tourism activities when the COVID-19 pandemic is under control at home and abroad, said the municipal Tourism Department during its conference on January 14 to launch 2022 tasks.