Photo for illustration (Source: VGP)
The Vietnam News Agency recently qouted the sayings of Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long.
The minister held that Vietnam is facing a high risk of another COVID-19 outbreak from the outside, as within the past 24 hours, India reported over 340,000 new cases, while Cambodia confirmed more than 600 cases and Laos also saw the highest-ever rise in the number of infections.
Long stressed the need for Vietnamese people to stay vigilant against the spread of the virus, while focusing on strictly implementing preventive measures with the hope of controlling the situation.
Recently, the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control and the Health Ministry have warned of the risk of another outbreak in the country, advising people to take measures to prevent the pandemic from entering Vietnam from the outside, he said.
The minister said that a number scenarios have been built in case the pandemic occurs in localities, especially in the southwest region.
Meanwhile, five working groups led by the minister and four deputy health ministers have worked with southwestern provinces to direct pandemic preventive measures, he said.
Stressing that the most concerned risk is that new SARS-CoV-2 variants penetrate into Vietnam from Cambodia without any signs, he said that the ministry has asked the risky localities to pay special attention to the situation.
Localities in the southwestern region and those along the border with Cambodia have been guided to roll out preventive measures, especially the “5K message”, he said.
However, Long noted that controlling illegal entry into Vietnam through the sea border is a great challenge, especially in Kien Giang province where quarantine facilities in its Ha Tien city is becoming overloaded.
Therefore, a temporary hospital has been set up in Ha Tien to be ready to treat COVID-19 patients, he said.
Underlining the responsibility of local leaders in pandemic prevention and control, the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat has directed Party Committees at all levels to enhance their role in the work, he noted.
Regarding the health sector's preparations for the upcoming prolonged Liberation Day (April 30) and May Day (May 1) holidays, Long said that along with advising people to strictly implementing the 5K message, the ministry is speeding up COVID-19 vaccinations, while keeping a close watch on the implementation of preventive measures in each locality.
At the same time, tight control over entry activities has been carried out in border localities to prevent illegal immigrants, which requires the strong cooperation of all people, he said.
National Quality Awards 2019-2020 highlights 116 businesses
A ceremony was organized in Hanoi on April 25 to present the Vietnam National Quality Awards 2019-2020 to 116 companies with remarkable achievements in improving the quality of products and services, competitiveness, operational efficiency, and regional and international economic integration.
Vice State President Vo Thi Anh Xuan and representatives from a number of ministries, sectors and businesses attended the event.
At the ceremony (Photo: laodong.vn)
The Vietnam National Quality Awards 2019 went to 61 enterprises, while 55 others received the Awards in 2020, reported the Vietnam News Agency.
Also at the ceremony, the Global Performance Excellence Awards (GPEA) 2019-2020 were presented to four enterprises: Viglacera Corporation JSC; KIZUNA JV Joint Stock Company, Tan A Production and Trading Company Limited, and Central Power Electronic Measurement Equipment Manufacturing Centre of the Central Power Corporation.
Addressing the event, Minister of Science and Technology Huynh Thanh Dat said the winners were all typical enterprises with the high spirit of innovation, which crystallised the quality of their products and services.
In the coming time, the ministry will continue to work hard on setting out policies so that businesses can enjoy preferential treatment on market access and development, thus improving their productivity and quality as well as promoting innovation, improving their competitiveness, he said.
The National Quality Awards were approved by the Prime Minister and are included in the GPEA. The PM signed decisions presenting the awards to 116 companies last year.
Over the past 25 years, more than 2,000 enterprises have won these awards, including 240 receiving the golden prize. Of note, 50 were also honoured with the GPEA.
The GPEA programme is administered by the Asia-Pacific Quality Organisation (APQO), which is a non-profit organisation bringing together all of the leading quality societies in the Asia Pacific region.
To be eligible for the prestigious awards, businesses must earn a national quality award for two years preceding the year of application and be recommended by the national awards body.
2019 was the 20th year Vietnam has participated in the GPEA programme. So far, there have been 50 Vietnamese enterprises winning the international awards.
Indonesian, Cambodian media highlights close bilateral relations with Vietnam
Some articles have been published on Indonesian and Cambodian newspapers highlighting the significance of Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s first trip to Indonesia where he attended the ASEAN Leaders' Meeting, said the Vietnam News Agency.
In its article, Kompasiana newspaper of Indonesia stated that PM Chinh’s visit to Indonesia was a milestone in the 66-year history of friendship between the two countries.
Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (L) and Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Photo: VNA)
According to the article, Vietnam was committed to promoting its strategic partnership with Indonesia and was ready to cooperate closely with Jakarta in regional and international issues.
Vietnam and Indonesia established diplomatic relations in 1955 and now have good commercial ties and cooperation in many fields, with two-way trade hitting 8.07 billion USD in 2020.
PM Chinh and Indonesian President Joko Widodo discussed ways to achieve the target of 10 billion USD in two-way trade in 2021.
Meanwhile, Fresh News of Cambodia on April 24 reported that Cambodian PM Hun Sen and PM Chinh expressed their satisfaction with continuous development of bilateral ties based on the principle of mutual trust, good neighborliness, unity, stability, and peace, at their meeting after the ASEAN Leader’s Meeting on the same day in Jakarta, Indonesia.
During their meeting, the two leaders exchanged views on bilateral and multilateral cooperation as well as regional issues of common concerns, it said.
According to Fresh News, both sides reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening cooperation at international forums in the spirit of mutual benefits, and expanding the cooperation among countries in the region and the world for the cause of peace, security, and sustainable development.
PM Hun Sen thanked the Vietnamese Government and people for their generous assistance to the Cambodia during this difficult time amid the COVID-19 outbreak, saying that Cambodia will endeavor to settle the health crisis in the country in the coming time.
In separate bilateral meetings with the Indonesian President and Vietnamese PM, PM Hun Sen thanked the two leaders for their support to Cambodia for being the host of the 13th Asia-Europe Summit and Chair of ASEAN in 2022./.