Trinh Hoai Duc gymnasium in Hanoi, which is to host judo and kurash competitions (Photo: VNA)
At the recent second Chefs de Mission Meeting of the Games, Deputy Director of the Vietnam Sports Administration Tran Duc Phan told delegates that in the face of complex developments of COVID-19, Vietnam has devised three options of allowing full capacity, restricting or barring spectators.
In case no fans are allowed in competition venues over COVID-19 concerns, all individuals are required to wear face masks, except for competing athletes. If capacity restrictions are observed, seats will be arranged to maintain distance among spectators. As for the no-restriction plan, spectators must still observe the 5K message on the prevention of the spread of the virus.
The commute of sports delegations and athletes must be held in a closed routine. Arrivals will take COVID-19 rapid antigen test within 24 hours.
Any found contracting the virus may stay in quarantine at hotels if they develop no or mild symptoms. Those with severe symptoms will be transferred to assigned medical facilities.
Athletes having contact with COVID-19 positives are eligible to compete and not be quarantined.
The organising board will cover COVID-19 testing and treatment costs for medical incidents handled at competition venues and accommodation facilities. Sports delegations are to bear hospital bills, insurance and other costs.
The SEA Games 31, themed “For a stronger South East Asia”, will run in Hanoi and 11 neighbouring localities from May 12 to 23. It will feature 40 sports with 526 events and expect to attract around 10,000 participants. The biennial event was initially slated for late 2021 but delayed due to the pandemic’s impact.
Number of passengers using Cat Linh-Ha Dong urban metrol line up 30 percent
The number of passengers using the Cat Linh-Ha Dong urban elevated rail line has surged by 30 percent compared to the previous months, according to Hanoi Metro One Member Limited Company (Hanoi Metro) – a State-owned enterprise specialising in the operation and maintenance of urban railway in Hanoi, reported Vietnam News Agency.
Passengers seen on Cat Linh-Ha Dong urban elevated rail line in Hanoi. (Photo: VNA)
The line carries more than 10,000 passengers per day on average and 15,000 at weekends. The company attributed the increase to the fact that people has found the service convenient after it has been put into operation for several months.
The resumption of business activities and the switch to a flexible adaption to the COVID-19 pandemic, along with the rising cost of fuel price are also reasons for the surge in passengers.
“The ratio of passengers using monthly tickets on the route during rush hour accounts for 70 percent,” said a representative of Hanoi Metro.
Currently, there are 54 bus routes connecting to the Cat Linh-Ha Dong urban elevated rail line, of which Cat Linh and Yen Nghia stations have 16 bus lines and intermediate stations have 8-9 bus routes.
The line started running last November. It was officially inaugurated on January 13 and welcomed the one millionth passenger the same day. With a total investment of approximately 868 million USD (up 315 million USD compared to initial estimates) and funded by China’s official development assistance (ODA), the elevated line is more than 13km long and has 12 stations and 13 trains.
Trains run every 10 minutes with a capacity of 960 passengers each train. One-way tickets cost from 8,000-15,000 VND (0.35-0.65 USD) for a trip and 30,000 VND for a day pass. A monthly pass is priced at 200,000 VND, with lower price schemes available for bulk purchases by companies or factories.
Students in many localities return to schools
Students in various localities started to return to schools from March 21 after a period of online learning due to a surge of COVID-19 cases, reported Vietnam News Agency.
Students attend in-person class (Photo:hanoimoi.com.vn)
Students from Grade 7 to Grade 12 in the capital city of Hanoi went to schools on the day.
Earlier, those from the first to sixth grades in the 18 suburban districts and town of Hanoi turned to online learning from February 28, part of the local efforts to curb COVID-19 transmission.
In the northern province of Tuyen Quang, the 7th and 12th graders will continue to attend both in-person and online classes in accordance with plans by the provincial Department of Education and Training. Kindergarteners will remain at home while students from Grade 1 to Grade 6 study online.
In northern Bac Ninh province, elementary and secondary schools are asked to devise plans for in-person classes.
Students of Grade 9 and Grade 12 in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak will return to school from March 21, while all students in the north-central province of Nghe An are set to come back to schools from April 4.
Vietnam mango exports triple in 2021
Vietnam exported more than 600,000 tonnes of mangoes worth 310 million USD to 53 countries and territories last year, up by almost half from 2020, reported Vietnam News Agency.
Farmers in Dong Thap province classify mangoes for export. (Photo: vnexpress.net)
They went to Russia, the US, the Republic of Korea, the EU, Australia, and China among others, with shipments to difficult markets like Japan tripling to 640 tonnes.
According to Nguyen Dinh Tung, chairman of Vina T&T Group, which has been exporting mangoes since 2019, his company’s preservation technologies keep the fruit for around a month.
The free trade agreements Vietnam has signed is helping it enter many new markets.
Mango can be grown throughout the year without much change in quality, which helps his company easily get export orders.
Vietnam has around 87,000 hectares under mango, with the Mekong Delta accounting for nearly half.
Dong Thap province in the delta has identified the fruit as a key crop in its agricultural restructuring plan.
The largest mango producer in the delta uses advanced farming techniques and processes fresh mangoes for both domestic consumption and export.
Nguyen Thi Thu Huong, deputy head of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s Plant Protection Department, said Japanese consumers were fond of Dong Thap mangoes.
According to Pham Thien Nghia, chairman of the People's Committee, his province had more than 12,000ha under mango, mostly in Cao Lanh district and Cao Lanh city.
The Hoa Loc variety accounts for 70 percent of its output and Cat Chu for 20 percent, two speciality varieties that are in great demand.
Photo: congthuong.vn
Dong Thap plans to slightly increase its area under various fruits by 2025 with a focus on environment-friendly farming methods and developing value chains for them.
It also plans to enhance origin tracing for fruits and tourism involving orchards.
It hopes to have 928ha of fruits grown to Vietnamese good agricultural practices (VietGAP) standards and 53ha to GlobalGAP standards.
Besides mango, longan and citrus fruits are the key produce here and they are grown in large, concentrated farming areas.
Under the restructuring plan, many farmers with low-yield rice fields have switched to fruits and adopted VietGAP and GlobalGAP standards and advanced techniques to produce quality fruits for export.
Vietnam plans to expand the total area under mango by 2030 and increase exports to 650 million USD to take advantage of growing global demand./.