Vietnam has been free of Omicron so far (Photo: VNA)
According to CAAV Director Dinh Viet Thang, along with banning flights from the 10 countries - Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Angola and Zambia to Vietnam, passengers who travelled through these countries within 30 days before entering Vietnam should be denied entry into Vietnam.
The agency recommended that the Ministry of Transport ask the Ministry of Health to issue specific guidance on quarantine control over passengers arriving from some countries where Omicron has been found such as the Republic of Korea and Japan.
The Transport Ministry should also ask the Ministry of Public Security to tighten checks at aviation border gates to detect passengers who have travelled through the countries hit by Omicron, the CAAV said.
According to the CAAV, many countries around the world have applied travel restrictions on people from African countries and/or those where Omicron has been discovered including Israel, EU countries, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, the Republic of Korea, Japan and Cambodia.
Vietnam’s manufacturing continues improving in November
A production line at Ha Tay Chemical Weave Co Ltd. The Vietnam Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) ticked up slightly to 52.2 in November. (Photo: VNA)
The Vietnam Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) ticked up to 52.2 in November from 52.1 in October, signalling a second successive modest improvement in business conditions following a period of decline caused by the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic earlier in the year, reported Vietnam News Agency.
In a report released on December 1, IHS Markit said overall business conditions in the Vietnamese manufacturing sector improved for the second month running in November, but renewed worries about the COVID-19 pandemic and associated labour shortages limited growth momentum. Meanwhile, inflationary pressures continued to strengthen, with both input costs and output prices increasing to the greatest extents since April 2011.
According to the report, new orders increased for the second month running as the easing of pandemic restrictions in recent months helped raise demand in the sector. Moreover, the rate of expansion was solid and the sharpest since April. New export orders also increased again, but only modestly as COVID-19 continued to constrain international trade.
Higher new orders and a lower level of restrictions than seen earlier in the year meant that manufacturers were able to expand their production volumes again in November. While new order growth accelerated, this was not the case for output which increased at a broadly similar pace to that seen in October.
A number of firms indicated that labour shortages had restricted production. A number of respondents indicated that workers were concerned about the pandemic and therefore were reluctant to return to work, thereby making it difficult for manufacturers to expand staffing levels in line with greater workloads. Employment continued to fall markedly, extending the current sequence of reduction to six months. As a result, backlogs of work increased for the third month running.
Worries about the pandemic also impacted confidence among manufacturers, with sentiment dropping from October. That said, firms remained optimistic that output will increase over the coming year amid hopes that the health situation will improve.
According to the report, higher oil and transportation costs, as well as raw material shortages, contributed to a further increase in input prices in November. Moreover, the rate of inflation accelerated for the third month running and was the steepest since April 2011. The same was also true for output charges, which rose at a much faster pace than in October as firms passed on higher costs to their customers.
Manufacturers expanded their purchasing activity for the second successive month in November, albeit at a reduced pace. Despite the increase in input buying, stocks of purchases declined for the first time in four months. Respondents indicated that the use of inputs to support production and issues securing materials were behind the drop.
The challenges in securing inputs were highlighted by data signalling a further marked lengthening of suppliers' delivery times. Raw material shortages, a lack of shipping capacity and issues with transportation due to the COVID-19 pandemic all contributed to delivery delays. That said, the latest deterioration was the least marked in six months.
Over 4,880 tonnes of rice allocated to three provinces hit by COVID-19 pandemic
Over 4,880 tonnes of rice from the national reserve to be allocated to the provinces of Hoa Binh, Ha Tinh and Soc Trang. (Photo: NDO)
Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai has directed the Ministry of Finance to allocate over 4,880 tonnes of rice from the national reserve to the provinces of Hoa Binh, Ha Tinh and Soc Trang in support of local people affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, reported Nhan Dan News.
Of the total amount, more than 54 tonnes will be provided for Hoa Binh, over 229 tonnes will be given to Ha Tinh and over 4,596 tonnes will be allocated to Soc Trang.
The Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Labour-Invalids and Social Affairs are responsible for allocating the aid to the three provinces and reported data.
Meanwhile, the three provinces will be responsible for the accuracy of the reported data and the timely provision of the rice to the right subjects in accordance with the pandemic prevention and control in the localities.
“Father and Son” movie to be screened at World Expo 2020 Dubai
Vietnamese movie Cha cong con (Father and Son) has been selected to be screened in late December at the World Expo 2020 Dubai, which is taking place in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Poster of Vietnamese movie Cha cong con (Father and Son). (Photo: VOV)
The film has been adapted from a short story of the same name which was written by Luong Dinh Dung in 1995.
The main character of the movie is a little boy named Ca who lives with his visually impaired father and has spent his life by the river. Ca’s entire world revolves around the river and everything associated with it.
However, Ca dreams of touching the clouds and of visiting the fairyland described to him by his father. Tragically, the boy suffers from an incurable disease and cannot wait for the day his father has saved enough money to take him to the doctor.
The film has won the Best Cinematography award at the 17th Milano International Film Festival, the Best Foreign Feature and Special Jury Award for Outstanding Cinematography at the 26th Arizona International Film Festival, along with the Indie Spirit Best Storyline award at the 15th Boston International Film Festival.
The World EXPO Dubai is held every five years to introduce participating countries’ beauty and development potential. According to the organisers, this year’s six-month event lasting from October 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022 is expected to attract the participation of 190 countries and territories from across the world and 25 million visitors.
State budget collection exceeds annual estimate
State budget collection reached more than 1,389 trillion VND, 103% of the year’s estimated or an increase of 8.9% compared to the same period last year, according to the latest statistics of the Ministry of Finance.
Among them, domestic revenue was estimated at 1,139.7 trillion VND, equaling 100.6% of the estimate, up 6.2% over the same period last year.
According to the Ministry of Finance’s calculation, 8 out of 12 revenue streams have basically met or exceeded the estimate, including revenue from state-owned enterprises, foreign-invested enterprises, non-state economic sectors, personal income tax, revenues from house and land, revenue from the grant of mineral exploitation rights, collection of public land funds and other public benefits, and other revenue streams.
Photo for illustration (Source: CPV)
Notably, 55 out of 63 localities ensured domestic revenue meeting the estimate schedule, reaching over 90%, of which 50 localities have collected over 95% of the estimate.
The Ministry of Finance said that despite being severely affected by the COVID-19 epidemic, with firm and flexible management, state budget revenue in the first 11 months of 2021 still ensured the estimated progress and increased against the same period last year. By the end of November, the 2021 budget revenue has reached the target for the whole year.
Meanwhile, in the 11 months, state budget expenditure reached 75.2% of the year’s estimate, of which regular expenditure reached 84.4% of the estimate and debt interest payment was 81.9%.
During the period, the state budget has spent 56.27 trillion VND on epidemic prevention and support for people facing difficulties due to the COVID-19 epidemic.
Among them, the central government spent 25.35 trillion VND to buy vaccines, on epidemic prevention and control, and purchase rice for national reserves to support people facing difficulties due to the epidemic.
Localities have spent 30.92 trillion VND from their local budgets on epidemic prevention and control and supporting people facing difficulties due to the epidemic./.