Photo for illustration (Source: vov.vn)
The HCM City Department of Transport recently issued a document guiding the resumption of passenger transport services, reported Saigon Times.
Accordingly, the operation frequency and time of buses will depend on the pandemic situation and demand in each area.
Meanwhile, taxi firms will register the number of vehicles operating from October 5 but the number must not exceed 20% of their total fleet.
As for tech-based vehicles, the number of vehicles resuming their operations must not be higher than 10% of the total vehicles registered with such firms.
The city also allowed cars which do not use technology to connect with customers to serve the tourism programs of the HCMC Department of Tourism and the governments of Thu Duc City and districts and activities of the healthcare sector, as well as to transport workers and experts.
Moreover, tourism firms will resume no more than 30% of their passenger cars.
The municipal Department of Transport will grant these vehicles identification certificates with QR codes. The department will revise the number of vehicles allowed to operate based on the reality.
Traditional motorbike taxis and ride-hailing motorbikes will be still suspended.
The city government also allowed the Binh Khanh and Cat Lat ferries to resume their operations.
The city will create favorable conditions for residents from other localities to the city for medical checkup and treatment. Except for emergency cases, others must have negative COVID-19 test certificates conducted within 72 hours and be allowed to travel by their local authorities.
Besides these two documents, HCM City residents returning to the city from other localities must provide documents proving their residence in HCM City.
Meanwhile, only sick people, children and pregnant women in HCM City were allowed to travel to other localities. However, they must be vaccinated, recover from COVID-19 and test negative for COVID-19.
Those coming from other localities to HCM City must also be subject to these requirements and must be allowed by their localities.
HCM City has approved a plan to bring laborers from other localities back to the city to work. However, the transport of laborers by trains and air will be in line with the plans of the Ministry of Transport.
From October 1, HCM City has applied Directive 18 on adjusting COVID-19 infection prevention and control measures and gradually reopening the economy.
Vietnamese students win third prize at ASEAN youth journalism contest
Two Vietnamese student has secured the third prize at the 2nd ASEAN Youth Social Journalism Contest 2021 for their social media campaign to raise awareness about plastic consumption among young Vietnamese people amid the COVID-19 pandemic, reported VNA.
(Photo: Facebook Page of the Flatten the Plastic Curve project)
Hoang Nguyen Nhat Vi and Pham Quang Vinh, both from the RMIT University Vietnam, obtained the award with a project titled “Flatten the Plastic Curve”, which reached close to 200,000 young audiences in just a month.
Following the theme ASEAN Youth and COVID-19 ─ Response, Recovery, and Resilience, the pair, via comic-like graphics and influencer marketing, worked to persuade young shoppers to take small but impactful actions while making their orders online.
The project encouraged young people to make changes, such as ordering from one shop to minimise the use of plastic packages, or directly sending plastic-reduction messages to shop owners or food shippers.
By the end of the campaign, Vi and Vinh reached over 40,000 young people with their print ads, received organic shares, and had their campaign mentioned in four Vietnamese macro influencers’ Facebook pages.
Vietnam, US reach agreement to end timber trade probe
Vietnam and the US have reached an agreement on illegal logging and timber trade that will avoid hefty tariffs on Vietnamese timber exports, according to the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).
Currently, the US is the biggest market for Vietnamese wood products. (Photo: VNA)
The deal was inked by MARD Minister Le Minh Hoan and US Trade Representative Katherine Tai on October 1, reported VNA.
In October 2020, the US Trade Representative (USTR) launched an investigation into Vietnam's timber exports under Section 301 of the 1974 Trade Act.
The agreement addresses US concerns in the Vietnam Timber Section 301 investigation.
Ambassador Tai determined that the Agreement provides a satisfactory resolution of the matter subject to investigation and that no trade action is warranted at this time, the USTR said.
The agreement will contribute to improving the prestige of Vietnam’s timber sector and creating a foundation for the country’s sustainable forestry development. It also demonstrates Vietnam’s responsibility in building, issuing and implementing legal regulations, ensuring the legal timber origin in line with relevant regulations of international treaties to which Vietnam is a member.
The US side spoke highly of the agreement, saying "Vietnam will provide a model – both for the Indo-Pacific region and globally – for comprehensive enforcement against illegal timber."
Currently, the US is the biggest market for Vietnamese wood products, representing an estimated 7.4 billion USD last year, about half of the country’s total. In the first eight months of this year the number stood at 6.4 billion USD, up 58.8 percent year-on-year./.