Saigon under lockdown
Saigon under lockdown
Vietnam: Saigon, a city of 9 million is now under lockdown !
https://www.vietnamnews.net/news/270228 ... tion-goals
Tourism of non-vietnamese has come to an almost complete stop, pretty much like in neighboring Thailand. My frequent visits to both countries have come to a complete halt since Jan 2020.
I don't expect any major changes for the next 1-2 years to come. Who knows what's than left of the tourism Industry ?
https://www.vietnamnews.net/news/270228 ... tion-goals
Tourism of non-vietnamese has come to an almost complete stop, pretty much like in neighboring Thailand. My frequent visits to both countries have come to a complete halt since Jan 2020.
I don't expect any major changes for the next 1-2 years to come. Who knows what's than left of the tourism Industry ?
Saigon under prolonged lockdown.................,could last up to 2 month more.
https://e.vnexpress.net/news/news/nuts- ... 29833.html
https://e.vnexpress.net/news/news/nuts- ... 29833.html
We need to revert to living further apart from each other
The shit is continuing to hit Saigon/HCM hard.
Vietnam Covid-19 surges, Ho Chi Minh enters lockdown Monday
Neill Fronde
on Sunday, August 22, 2021 03:51
With soaring Covid-19 infections, Ho Chi Minh City has issued a stay-at-home order enacting a strict lockdown that bans people from leaving their home starting Monday. The megacity of 9 million people has accounted for a full 80% of all Covid-19 deaths and 50% of Covid-19 infections in Vietnam and less harsh lockdown restrictions aren’t making headway.
The deputy head of Ho Chi Minh City’s Coronavirus authority asked everyone to stay in their homes and not to go outside, in order to stop the spread of Covid-19 in its tracks and allow the city to treat the current critically ill infected patients.
“Each home, company, factory should be an anti-virus fort.”
The announcement sent many in Ho Chi Minh City into a frenzy, hoarding supplies before being trapped in their homes from Monday. The military will be distributing food to residents with the help of volunteers, unions, and veterans. The army will keep the food supply running and enforce stay-at-home orders through September 15.
But people racing to stock up in Ho Chi Minh will likely backfire and lead to more exposure and Covid-19 infections, and create shortages as people overstock in a panic. Long lines were seen in markets with shelves being emptied. From Monday, the most high risk districts of the city will not be allowed to go out, even for food, while safer areas will be allowed one weekly grocery shopping trip.
Vietnam like Thailand had long avoided the pandemic through strong countermeasures and citizen compliance in a country where mask wearing was already common. Before May of this year they had less than 3,000 total Covid-19 cases and only 35 deaths, but now just 3 and a half months later Vietnam has had 7,150 deaths and 312,000 infections, with 10,650 new infections and 390 deaths yesterday.
Less than 2% of people in Vietnam have been vaccinated, and now many feel that a sharp acceleration in vaccinations is the only way to get Covid-19 back under control in the country. Over 50% of Saigonese people have had at least one Covid-19 vaccine, but the rest of the country is far behind Ho Chi Minh. Vietnam has been developing their own domestic subunit vaccine that is now in the third phase of trials with promising results.
unquote:
I'm not sure how successfull Vietnam or for that matter Thailand will be with their domestic developed vaccines. Hopefully they work and don't need to be transported at temps below 80 degrees centagrade and have a longer shelf live, too.
Vietnam Covid-19 surges, Ho Chi Minh enters lockdown Monday
Neill Fronde
on Sunday, August 22, 2021 03:51
With soaring Covid-19 infections, Ho Chi Minh City has issued a stay-at-home order enacting a strict lockdown that bans people from leaving their home starting Monday. The megacity of 9 million people has accounted for a full 80% of all Covid-19 deaths and 50% of Covid-19 infections in Vietnam and less harsh lockdown restrictions aren’t making headway.
The deputy head of Ho Chi Minh City’s Coronavirus authority asked everyone to stay in their homes and not to go outside, in order to stop the spread of Covid-19 in its tracks and allow the city to treat the current critically ill infected patients.
“Each home, company, factory should be an anti-virus fort.”
The announcement sent many in Ho Chi Minh City into a frenzy, hoarding supplies before being trapped in their homes from Monday. The military will be distributing food to residents with the help of volunteers, unions, and veterans. The army will keep the food supply running and enforce stay-at-home orders through September 15.
But people racing to stock up in Ho Chi Minh will likely backfire and lead to more exposure and Covid-19 infections, and create shortages as people overstock in a panic. Long lines were seen in markets with shelves being emptied. From Monday, the most high risk districts of the city will not be allowed to go out, even for food, while safer areas will be allowed one weekly grocery shopping trip.
Vietnam like Thailand had long avoided the pandemic through strong countermeasures and citizen compliance in a country where mask wearing was already common. Before May of this year they had less than 3,000 total Covid-19 cases and only 35 deaths, but now just 3 and a half months later Vietnam has had 7,150 deaths and 312,000 infections, with 10,650 new infections and 390 deaths yesterday.
Less than 2% of people in Vietnam have been vaccinated, and now many feel that a sharp acceleration in vaccinations is the only way to get Covid-19 back under control in the country. Over 50% of Saigonese people have had at least one Covid-19 vaccine, but the rest of the country is far behind Ho Chi Minh. Vietnam has been developing their own domestic subunit vaccine that is now in the third phase of trials with promising results.
unquote:
I'm not sure how successfull Vietnam or for that matter Thailand will be with their domestic developed vaccines. Hopefully they work and don't need to be transported at temps below 80 degrees centagrade and have a longer shelf live, too.
HANOI, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Vietnam will deploy troops to industrial Binh Duong province, a major manufacturing hub in the Southeast Asian country, to help contain an expected 50,000 additional coronavirus infections there over the next two weeks, the government said on Thursday.
Binh Duong is adjacent to virus epicentre Ho Chi Minh City and has so far recorded 81,000 COVID-19 cases, a third of which were detected in the past week, according to Vietnam's health ministry.
source:https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-paci ... 021-08-26/
Binh Duong is adjacent to virus epicentre Ho Chi Minh City and has so far recorded 81,000 COVID-19 cases, a third of which were detected in the past week, according to Vietnam's health ministry.
source:https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-paci ... 021-08-26/
Saigon (HCM). Feeding a population of 9 million people is a challenge. This is how it's organized now:
HCM City scrambles to get food to residents
Update: August, 27/2021 - 12:39
ESSENTIALS: The military delivers basic food supplies to residents in District 11 of Hồ Chí Minh City. Photo courtesy of Sài Gòn Giải Phóng newspaper
Supermarkets in Hồ Chí Minh City have launched various combos to deliver food and home necessities to local residents in lockdown faster, while soldiers are assisting with the delivery.
Many recipients appreciated and cooperated in these unprecedented measures to ensure people stay home to help control the pandemic. But some people have not been pleased by the options available or some of the prices.
A resident in Tân Phú district was aghast to find out that ward sent out a list of combos without any meat or fish. Six combos of daily necessities cost from VNĐ350,000 to VNĐ1 million each.
The two combos at the lowest price include soy sauce, cooking oil, instant noodles, chicken eggs, green beans, red beetroots, carrots, sweet potatoes, cabbages, cucumbers and pumpkins.
The combo at the other end of the price chart includes seasoning, instant noodle, rice, soy sauce, cooking oil, monosodium glutamate, milk, chicken eggs, green beans, cucumbers, carrots, potatoes and other vegetables.
The shopping combos help reduce the time for delivering goods, but the buying capacity of city residents limits their choices. The structure of the combos need to be comprised of vital foods with flexibility to change the types of food to suit people’s shopping needs.
As a result, a list of vital food and necessary supplies must be made available to all supermarkets as well as city residents, so that overlapping and misunderstandings can be avoided. Some customers have said, the list must add baby and elderly diapers, sanitary pads, baby formula, toilet paper, washing detergent and tooth brushes and paste.
City supermarkets including Aeon and Bách Hóa Xanh have offered more affordable combos. Aeon has four simple combos at VNĐ450,000- 500,000 that include pig bones, pork belly, pork shoulder, fish, sweet potatoes, cucumbers, tomatoes, limes, mustard greens, and lettuces.
Meanwhile, Bách Hóa Xanh's combo prices vary from VNĐ120,000 to VNĐ500,000, where shoppers can pick from a meat combo that includes pork, beef, chicken, fish, vegetables or seasoning. Home detergents, dried groceries and other combo supplies include packed cookies, milk and bottled drinks, which are varied and have a week's supply. Prices are less than VNĐ900,000.
The chairman of District 11 People's Committee told the Sài Gòn Giải Phóng newspaper that all the wards in his district had started helping local residents with food supply since August 24.
The district coordinated with supermarkets in the area to design various shopping combos for people to choose, then each ward's COVID community teams, with help from the military, go shopping and deliver the goods to each household.
The media has shown images of young soldiers having difficulties choosing between a vast range of baby formulas or cotton pads. Some people suggested that the supermarkets should prepare the goods because they know the brands, prices and work more efficiently. It was suggested that it would be better if the ward community teams and soldiers only delivered the goods rather than picked them out.
From the local ward level, Nguyễn Thế Dũng, chairman of Ward 14 People's Committee, was quoted as saying households could shop online at local supermarkets then community teams and soldiers would just help deliver their goods.
Other households, who could not pay online, will get a receipt upon receiving the goods.
Supermarkets also have limited good resources, which they said must be updated every day. A fixed list for the week cannot be guaranteed.
In Tam Phú Ward of Thủ Đức City, chairman Phạm Văn Hùng said that his community COVID teams helped local households do grocery shopping twice a week, with each shopping list not exceeding VNĐ1 million.
He said that local community COVID teams also delivered necessary goods to other households, who could not afford grocery shopping with food bags at VNĐ200,000 each, including rice, cooking oil, noodles and vegetables.
Besides getting enough food every day, a positive and upbeat spirit is also needed, according to Xuân Phượng, 92, a war documentary filmmaker, pediatrician and best-selling author.
"Here's my life these days: I live in an apartment in Sài Gòn with a domestic helper. I need to use my walking stick to get around. Even walking in our building paths now belongs to the past," Xuân Phương wrote in a letter published by VNExpress.
"But I shall not let the coronavirus deter my spirit. Like previous times, when I had to overcome life challenges during the war years, if my feet cannot get me walking out, I let my mind fly back to my youth 50 years ago, when I was a war correspondent."
STRONG SPIRIT: Xuân Phượng, 92, war correspondent (pictured here during her book launch in 2020), sends an upbeat message despite the chaos. Photo coutersy of Quỳnh My
Xuân Phượng wrote that her memory took her back to trips filming documentaries in Vĩnh Linh, Quảng Trị Province, when it was being bombed, or trips to Laos and Cambodia under tropical torrential rains while trekking on sharp stone slopes.
"What keeps my spirits up these days is to see my younger friends,” she wrote. “Many of them are my neighbours and in their late 60s now. I see them play music, bake cakes at home, learn a new language or watch briefings on the TV news.“
"What makes me cry these days is to see video of doctors, nurses and sanitary workers getting exhausted after long stressful working hours; they don’t get a bed to rest but have to lie down on the floor.”
She said that she was moved to tears to witness the compassion of people in hardship and reminded herself of a song by legendary Vietnamese musician Trịnh Công Sơn, "I, me, myself, do not be despaired." VNS
source:https://vietnamnews.vn/sunday/features/ ... dents.html
HCM City scrambles to get food to residents
Update: August, 27/2021 - 12:39
ESSENTIALS: The military delivers basic food supplies to residents in District 11 of Hồ Chí Minh City. Photo courtesy of Sài Gòn Giải Phóng newspaper
Supermarkets in Hồ Chí Minh City have launched various combos to deliver food and home necessities to local residents in lockdown faster, while soldiers are assisting with the delivery.
Many recipients appreciated and cooperated in these unprecedented measures to ensure people stay home to help control the pandemic. But some people have not been pleased by the options available or some of the prices.
A resident in Tân Phú district was aghast to find out that ward sent out a list of combos without any meat or fish. Six combos of daily necessities cost from VNĐ350,000 to VNĐ1 million each.
The two combos at the lowest price include soy sauce, cooking oil, instant noodles, chicken eggs, green beans, red beetroots, carrots, sweet potatoes, cabbages, cucumbers and pumpkins.
The combo at the other end of the price chart includes seasoning, instant noodle, rice, soy sauce, cooking oil, monosodium glutamate, milk, chicken eggs, green beans, cucumbers, carrots, potatoes and other vegetables.
The shopping combos help reduce the time for delivering goods, but the buying capacity of city residents limits their choices. The structure of the combos need to be comprised of vital foods with flexibility to change the types of food to suit people’s shopping needs.
As a result, a list of vital food and necessary supplies must be made available to all supermarkets as well as city residents, so that overlapping and misunderstandings can be avoided. Some customers have said, the list must add baby and elderly diapers, sanitary pads, baby formula, toilet paper, washing detergent and tooth brushes and paste.
City supermarkets including Aeon and Bách Hóa Xanh have offered more affordable combos. Aeon has four simple combos at VNĐ450,000- 500,000 that include pig bones, pork belly, pork shoulder, fish, sweet potatoes, cucumbers, tomatoes, limes, mustard greens, and lettuces.
Meanwhile, Bách Hóa Xanh's combo prices vary from VNĐ120,000 to VNĐ500,000, where shoppers can pick from a meat combo that includes pork, beef, chicken, fish, vegetables or seasoning. Home detergents, dried groceries and other combo supplies include packed cookies, milk and bottled drinks, which are varied and have a week's supply. Prices are less than VNĐ900,000.
The chairman of District 11 People's Committee told the Sài Gòn Giải Phóng newspaper that all the wards in his district had started helping local residents with food supply since August 24.
The district coordinated with supermarkets in the area to design various shopping combos for people to choose, then each ward's COVID community teams, with help from the military, go shopping and deliver the goods to each household.
The media has shown images of young soldiers having difficulties choosing between a vast range of baby formulas or cotton pads. Some people suggested that the supermarkets should prepare the goods because they know the brands, prices and work more efficiently. It was suggested that it would be better if the ward community teams and soldiers only delivered the goods rather than picked them out.
From the local ward level, Nguyễn Thế Dũng, chairman of Ward 14 People's Committee, was quoted as saying households could shop online at local supermarkets then community teams and soldiers would just help deliver their goods.
Other households, who could not pay online, will get a receipt upon receiving the goods.
Supermarkets also have limited good resources, which they said must be updated every day. A fixed list for the week cannot be guaranteed.
In Tam Phú Ward of Thủ Đức City, chairman Phạm Văn Hùng said that his community COVID teams helped local households do grocery shopping twice a week, with each shopping list not exceeding VNĐ1 million.
He said that local community COVID teams also delivered necessary goods to other households, who could not afford grocery shopping with food bags at VNĐ200,000 each, including rice, cooking oil, noodles and vegetables.
Besides getting enough food every day, a positive and upbeat spirit is also needed, according to Xuân Phượng, 92, a war documentary filmmaker, pediatrician and best-selling author.
"Here's my life these days: I live in an apartment in Sài Gòn with a domestic helper. I need to use my walking stick to get around. Even walking in our building paths now belongs to the past," Xuân Phương wrote in a letter published by VNExpress.
"But I shall not let the coronavirus deter my spirit. Like previous times, when I had to overcome life challenges during the war years, if my feet cannot get me walking out, I let my mind fly back to my youth 50 years ago, when I was a war correspondent."
STRONG SPIRIT: Xuân Phượng, 92, war correspondent (pictured here during her book launch in 2020), sends an upbeat message despite the chaos. Photo coutersy of Quỳnh My
Xuân Phượng wrote that her memory took her back to trips filming documentaries in Vĩnh Linh, Quảng Trị Province, when it was being bombed, or trips to Laos and Cambodia under tropical torrential rains while trekking on sharp stone slopes.
"What keeps my spirits up these days is to see my younger friends,” she wrote. “Many of them are my neighbours and in their late 60s now. I see them play music, bake cakes at home, learn a new language or watch briefings on the TV news.“
"What makes me cry these days is to see video of doctors, nurses and sanitary workers getting exhausted after long stressful working hours; they don’t get a bed to rest but have to lie down on the floor.”
She said that she was moved to tears to witness the compassion of people in hardship and reminded herself of a song by legendary Vietnamese musician Trịnh Công Sơn, "I, me, myself, do not be despaired." VNS
source:https://vietnamnews.vn/sunday/features/ ... dents.html
Milk of human kindness: Locals help expats survive Covid in Vietnam
By Dang Khoa, Long Nguyen August 30, 2021 | 07:36 am GMT+7
Amid the month-long Covid-19 lockdown in HCMC, locals are helping foreigners navigate the restrictions, in many cases ensuring they get food and vaccination.
Andrew Scott has not stepped out of home since July, and has been ordering food from a nearby supermarket.
Last weekend, after coming to know about a tightening of coronavirus restrictions which would require people to shelter in place, he rushed to the supermarket to buy groceries, but there was nothing left.
"But I am lucky my landlord later gave me meat, rice and eggs," the Australian, an English teacher in District 11, says.
He also receives help from housemates in getting food.
"We share our food, so no one will go hungry and can overcome the lockdown together."
He is among thousands of foreigners in HCMC who have got help from locals amid the lockdown, which has impacted their incomes and even mental health.
As of Monday, the city has had some 210,000 cases of Covid-19 in the current outbreak, and nearly 8,500 deaths.
A Briton wanders in HCMCs District 1 after losing his English teaching job in the pandemic. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran
A Briton wanders in HCMC's District 1 after losing his English teaching job in the pandemic. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran
Due to the language barrier and overwhelming number of online orders, many expats struggle to buy food and groceries. But their landlords and local friends are helping out.
Jongrak Choi, a South Korean, says he feels safer after receiving food necessities from his neighbors and local authorities.
"The neighbors know we are foreigners and help us a lot. I am touched by the kindness of the Vietnamese."
Ward officials have been providing food in areas where people are prohibited from leaving their house.
Michal, an English teacher from Slovakia who refused to reveal his full name, too says local authorities helped him when his area was in the red zone.
"We got some vegetables, instant noodles, eggs, and rice."
But with the pandemic causing his income to dry up, he returned home last December.
Meanwhile, many expats have been able to learn about the vaccination campaign and get vaccinated thanks again to help from locals.
Singaporean Jordan Ng was notified about the vaccination in his neighborhood by his landlord, enabling him and his housemate could get their shots in time.
"My landlord is very helpful."
He plays the piano to calm himself and his housemate.
Daniel Evans, an English teacher in Thu Duc City, also got help from his Vietnamese neighbors for filling the vaccination registration form and traveling to the vaccination site.
"They are so nice that they got me fruits and cooling pads, worrying I would get a fever after my first shot," he says.
As HCMC made its coronavirus restrictions more stringent, many locals have been helping foreigners prepare for them.
Last Friday, when Simon Wilson was working in his living room, his landlord sent a message in a Facebook group, telling her guests about new restrictions that require people to stay at home and get food delivered by military personnel.
He immediately went to a supermarket to buy some groceries.
"Thanks to her message in the group chat, I knew what was going on and could prepare for the stringent lockdown," he says.
In many buildings in Thao Dien Ward, District 2, where many expats live, people have received tickets to order food through local authorities.
"I do not tend to stock up on stuff because I know there are a lot of people who need food during the lockdown, and I feel at ease when local authorities help me and others buy things we need," Wilson says.
To support expats better, the HCMC people's committee has recently decided to check the number of foreign residents who face difficulties in covering their living expenses and have not been vaccinated in town.
Robin Deepu (middle) and his friends give free meals to people, July 27, 2021. Photo courtesy of Robin Deepu
Robin Deepu (middle) and his friends give free meals to people, July 27, 2021. Photo courtesy of Robin Deepu
Lie low or leave
According to statistics from embassies and consulates, more than 200,000 foreigners live and work in HCMC.
As coronavirus risks grow and a month-long lockdown causes economic woes, the dream expat life has soured for many, and some have decided to leave.
Michal in Slovakia worries his girlfriend and their cat Luma might have to stay in Vietnam longer since they are unable to get their documents sorted out amid the lockdown.
On a Facebook group for expats, many members ask others how they could get to Tan Son Nhat International Airport amid the lockdown and nighttime restrictions.
While many expats have boarded planes, some are trying to keep a positive mindset while staying back.
Like locals, many have turned to new hobbies and activities like cooking, reading, helping people, and listening to broadcasts to avoid feeling low.
Trevor Long, a Covid survivor, has been bonding with his six-year-old son George and has set up a gym at their home in Thao Dien to keep both of them occupied.
"Maybe a positive life habit he can take out of it by the end too," Long wrote on his Facebook.
Robin Deepu, owner of an Indian restaurant in District 2, keeps making thousands of free meals every day for poor people and healthcare workers even when he and his staff cannot deliver them due to the shortage of new travel permits.
He tells VnExress International: "I call hospitals and tell them to come to my restaurant to pick up the food. I will keep cooking."
Many of those staying back believe that as long as people adopt strict preventative measures and get vaccinated, the outbreak will be contained.
"I cannot abandon the life I have built here just because times are tough," Jarred Srot, an English teacher in District 6, says.
"Vietnam has been good to me and I want to be good to Vietnam in return. I miss my family terribly but I have a family here too."
I have no big problems with these soft, human stories. But, in addition to that, could you report on whether foreigners have received, with relatively accurate statistical numbers, our fair share of 6 millions shots given in HCMC? I am old, I am a foreigner, I live in HCMC and I registered and gave all the information in accordance with proper procedures from the beginning of August, but I get no feed back and no vaccine shot yet. I am beginning to think ...
Old and Unvaccinated in HCMC - 11:41 30/8
Be positive. Be responsible for ourselves and our community, I'm sure we will overcome difficulties to contain the pandemic.
As an ex expat I arrived in the country start of May and decided to leave mid-August. The last 4 months have been nothing but misery for me and am glad to have finally gotten out of this situation. If foreigners decide to leave at this time it is not a bad thing cause that means less burden on the Vietnamese health system. I see this hard lockdown to last longer than September-Oct so I would advise foreigners to leave whilst you still can.
I really appreciate the kindness that the people of Viet Nam has expressed to the expats. I live in Long An and I am the only expat in the whole Province..that I know of. However, the locals are kind, compassionate and resilient. They made sure that everyone has their shot, that everyone has food during these trying times.
When it comes to push and shove, the good side of people usually shines bright unlike Fartwoods.
Send them home, we many who struggle to get and keep papers in order surely these groups don't! they do not need food, they need a ride to the embassy and a flight home,
Brian Fartwoods - 10:06 30/8
source:https://e.vnexpress.net/news/life/trend ... 46897.html
By Dang Khoa, Long Nguyen August 30, 2021 | 07:36 am GMT+7
Amid the month-long Covid-19 lockdown in HCMC, locals are helping foreigners navigate the restrictions, in many cases ensuring they get food and vaccination.
Andrew Scott has not stepped out of home since July, and has been ordering food from a nearby supermarket.
Last weekend, after coming to know about a tightening of coronavirus restrictions which would require people to shelter in place, he rushed to the supermarket to buy groceries, but there was nothing left.
"But I am lucky my landlord later gave me meat, rice and eggs," the Australian, an English teacher in District 11, says.
He also receives help from housemates in getting food.
"We share our food, so no one will go hungry and can overcome the lockdown together."
He is among thousands of foreigners in HCMC who have got help from locals amid the lockdown, which has impacted their incomes and even mental health.
As of Monday, the city has had some 210,000 cases of Covid-19 in the current outbreak, and nearly 8,500 deaths.
A Briton wanders in HCMCs District 1 after losing his English teaching job in the pandemic. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran
A Briton wanders in HCMC's District 1 after losing his English teaching job in the pandemic. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran
Due to the language barrier and overwhelming number of online orders, many expats struggle to buy food and groceries. But their landlords and local friends are helping out.
Jongrak Choi, a South Korean, says he feels safer after receiving food necessities from his neighbors and local authorities.
"The neighbors know we are foreigners and help us a lot. I am touched by the kindness of the Vietnamese."
Ward officials have been providing food in areas where people are prohibited from leaving their house.
Michal, an English teacher from Slovakia who refused to reveal his full name, too says local authorities helped him when his area was in the red zone.
"We got some vegetables, instant noodles, eggs, and rice."
But with the pandemic causing his income to dry up, he returned home last December.
Meanwhile, many expats have been able to learn about the vaccination campaign and get vaccinated thanks again to help from locals.
Singaporean Jordan Ng was notified about the vaccination in his neighborhood by his landlord, enabling him and his housemate could get their shots in time.
"My landlord is very helpful."
He plays the piano to calm himself and his housemate.
Daniel Evans, an English teacher in Thu Duc City, also got help from his Vietnamese neighbors for filling the vaccination registration form and traveling to the vaccination site.
"They are so nice that they got me fruits and cooling pads, worrying I would get a fever after my first shot," he says.
As HCMC made its coronavirus restrictions more stringent, many locals have been helping foreigners prepare for them.
Last Friday, when Simon Wilson was working in his living room, his landlord sent a message in a Facebook group, telling her guests about new restrictions that require people to stay at home and get food delivered by military personnel.
He immediately went to a supermarket to buy some groceries.
"Thanks to her message in the group chat, I knew what was going on and could prepare for the stringent lockdown," he says.
In many buildings in Thao Dien Ward, District 2, where many expats live, people have received tickets to order food through local authorities.
"I do not tend to stock up on stuff because I know there are a lot of people who need food during the lockdown, and I feel at ease when local authorities help me and others buy things we need," Wilson says.
To support expats better, the HCMC people's committee has recently decided to check the number of foreign residents who face difficulties in covering their living expenses and have not been vaccinated in town.
Robin Deepu (middle) and his friends give free meals to people, July 27, 2021. Photo courtesy of Robin Deepu
Robin Deepu (middle) and his friends give free meals to people, July 27, 2021. Photo courtesy of Robin Deepu
Lie low or leave
According to statistics from embassies and consulates, more than 200,000 foreigners live and work in HCMC.
As coronavirus risks grow and a month-long lockdown causes economic woes, the dream expat life has soured for many, and some have decided to leave.
Michal in Slovakia worries his girlfriend and their cat Luma might have to stay in Vietnam longer since they are unable to get their documents sorted out amid the lockdown.
On a Facebook group for expats, many members ask others how they could get to Tan Son Nhat International Airport amid the lockdown and nighttime restrictions.
While many expats have boarded planes, some are trying to keep a positive mindset while staying back.
Like locals, many have turned to new hobbies and activities like cooking, reading, helping people, and listening to broadcasts to avoid feeling low.
Trevor Long, a Covid survivor, has been bonding with his six-year-old son George and has set up a gym at their home in Thao Dien to keep both of them occupied.
"Maybe a positive life habit he can take out of it by the end too," Long wrote on his Facebook.
Robin Deepu, owner of an Indian restaurant in District 2, keeps making thousands of free meals every day for poor people and healthcare workers even when he and his staff cannot deliver them due to the shortage of new travel permits.
He tells VnExress International: "I call hospitals and tell them to come to my restaurant to pick up the food. I will keep cooking."
Many of those staying back believe that as long as people adopt strict preventative measures and get vaccinated, the outbreak will be contained.
"I cannot abandon the life I have built here just because times are tough," Jarred Srot, an English teacher in District 6, says.
"Vietnam has been good to me and I want to be good to Vietnam in return. I miss my family terribly but I have a family here too."
I have no big problems with these soft, human stories. But, in addition to that, could you report on whether foreigners have received, with relatively accurate statistical numbers, our fair share of 6 millions shots given in HCMC? I am old, I am a foreigner, I live in HCMC and I registered and gave all the information in accordance with proper procedures from the beginning of August, but I get no feed back and no vaccine shot yet. I am beginning to think ...
Old and Unvaccinated in HCMC - 11:41 30/8
Be positive. Be responsible for ourselves and our community, I'm sure we will overcome difficulties to contain the pandemic.
As an ex expat I arrived in the country start of May and decided to leave mid-August. The last 4 months have been nothing but misery for me and am glad to have finally gotten out of this situation. If foreigners decide to leave at this time it is not a bad thing cause that means less burden on the Vietnamese health system. I see this hard lockdown to last longer than September-Oct so I would advise foreigners to leave whilst you still can.
I really appreciate the kindness that the people of Viet Nam has expressed to the expats. I live in Long An and I am the only expat in the whole Province..that I know of. However, the locals are kind, compassionate and resilient. They made sure that everyone has their shot, that everyone has food during these trying times.
When it comes to push and shove, the good side of people usually shines bright unlike Fartwoods.
Send them home, we many who struggle to get and keep papers in order surely these groups don't! they do not need food, they need a ride to the embassy and a flight home,
Brian Fartwoods - 10:06 30/8
source:https://e.vnexpress.net/news/life/trend ... 46897.html
Covid 19 Tracing in HCM ? Vietnamese use no "Monkey Business" for Covid Contact Tracking. Communism has it's tools while Anti Mask Idiots in France, Germany etc. put everyone at risk using Democracy as a weapon.
https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/society/202 ... 62594.html
https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/society/202 ... 62594.html
Vietnam receives 8 tonnes of medical supplies from Poland
Various types of medical supplies, a gift from the Polish government, arrived at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City on Saturday afternoon.
The donation, which is worth about US$4 million, includes ventilators, heart rate monitors, anti-droplet glasses, face masks, and personal protective equipment, weighing approximately eight metric tons.
During a ceremony at the airport, Wojciech Gerwel, Polish Ambassador to Vietnam, handed over the aid to Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Truong Son and vice-chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Duong Anh Duc.
Ambassador Gerwel stated that Vietnam is Poland's priority partner in the region and the first non-European country to which Poland donated vaccines and medical equipment.
A shipment of 501,600 COVID-19 vaccine shots gifted by Poland previously arrived in Vietnam on August 23.
Deputy Minister Son thanked the Polish government and people for the noble gesture, stating that the health ministry will promptly allocate the medical supplies to provinces and cities to assist in local pandemic prevention and control efforts.
The Vietnamese Ministry of Health is currently working with Poland regarding the purchase of three million more vaccine doses from the European country.
The Polish government previously said it was willing to transfer the vaccine jabs to Vietnam.
By Sunday morning, Vietnam had documented 601,349 COVID-19 cases, with 363,462 recoveries and 15,018 deaths.
sourceLhttps://tuoitrenews.vn/news/society/20210912/vietnam-receives-8-tonnes-of-medical-supplies-from-poland/63058.html
Various types of medical supplies, a gift from the Polish government, arrived at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City on Saturday afternoon.
The donation, which is worth about US$4 million, includes ventilators, heart rate monitors, anti-droplet glasses, face masks, and personal protective equipment, weighing approximately eight metric tons.
During a ceremony at the airport, Wojciech Gerwel, Polish Ambassador to Vietnam, handed over the aid to Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Truong Son and vice-chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Duong Anh Duc.
Ambassador Gerwel stated that Vietnam is Poland's priority partner in the region and the first non-European country to which Poland donated vaccines and medical equipment.
A shipment of 501,600 COVID-19 vaccine shots gifted by Poland previously arrived in Vietnam on August 23.
Deputy Minister Son thanked the Polish government and people for the noble gesture, stating that the health ministry will promptly allocate the medical supplies to provinces and cities to assist in local pandemic prevention and control efforts.
The Vietnamese Ministry of Health is currently working with Poland regarding the purchase of three million more vaccine doses from the European country.
The Polish government previously said it was willing to transfer the vaccine jabs to Vietnam.
By Sunday morning, Vietnam had documented 601,349 COVID-19 cases, with 363,462 recoveries and 15,018 deaths.
sourceLhttps://tuoitrenews.vn/news/society/20210912/vietnam-receives-8-tonnes-of-medical-supplies-from-poland/63058.html
Ho Chi Minh City to loosen COVID-19 restrictions on Friday
Ho Chi Minh City officials have decided to ease coronavirus social distancing restrictions from October 1 to facilitate the recovery of socio-economic operations under 'new normal' conditions after months of lockdown.
The city will not reopen all activities after September 30 but follow a step-by-step road map, said the city’s deputy chairman Le Hoa Binh at a press conference to announce a directive on updated COVID-19 control measures on Thursday.
“Residents’ daily activities will be gradually restored under 'new normal' conditions but this does not mean everybody will flock to the streets,” the official added, referring to Vietnam's new strategy to live safely with the virus instead of trying to pursue a 'zero-COVID' policy.
Ho Chi Minh City officials have decided to ease coronavirus social distancing restrictions from October 1 to facilitate the recovery of socio-economic operations under 'new normal' conditions after months of lockdown.
The city will not reopen all activities after September 30 but follow a step-by-step road map, said the city’s deputy chairman Le Hoa Binh at a press conference to announce a directive on updated COVID-19 control measures on Thursday.
“Residents’ daily activities will be gradually restored under 'new normal' conditions but this does not mean everybody will flock to the streets,” the official added, referring to Vietnam's new strategy to live safely with the virus instead of trying to pursue a 'zero-COVID' policy.
Saigon: 'We are tired': Workers flee Vietnam's largest city as long lockdown eases
Mon, October 4, 2021, 2:11 PM·
* Mass exodus from Ho Chi Minh City fuels labour shortage worries
* City authorities ask migrant workers to 'stay to work'
* Nearly 90,000 people, mostly migrant workers, have left city - state media
* Ho Chi Minh City accounts for 77% of country's COVID-19 deaths
HANOI, Oct 4 (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of people, mostly migrant workers, left Ho Chi Minh City over the weekend as the largest metropolis in Vietnam eased a months-long COVID-19 lockdown https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-paci ... 2021-09-30, triggering fears of labour shortages and more disruption to manufacturing.
The mass exodus comes as the city and its nearby industrial provinces struggle to ensure sufficient workers to help revive the country's economy, which posted a record GDP slump https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-paci ... 2021-09-29 in the third quarter due to COVID-19 curbs.
"We left our home behind for the city in search for better jobs but now we are tired," said Tran Thi Them, 32, as she queued for a compulsory COVID-19 test before leaving.
Mon, October 4, 2021, 2:11 PM·
* Mass exodus from Ho Chi Minh City fuels labour shortage worries
* City authorities ask migrant workers to 'stay to work'
* Nearly 90,000 people, mostly migrant workers, have left city - state media
* Ho Chi Minh City accounts for 77% of country's COVID-19 deaths
HANOI, Oct 4 (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of people, mostly migrant workers, left Ho Chi Minh City over the weekend as the largest metropolis in Vietnam eased a months-long COVID-19 lockdown https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-paci ... 2021-09-30, triggering fears of labour shortages and more disruption to manufacturing.
The mass exodus comes as the city and its nearby industrial provinces struggle to ensure sufficient workers to help revive the country's economy, which posted a record GDP slump https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-paci ... 2021-09-29 in the third quarter due to COVID-19 curbs.
"We left our home behind for the city in search for better jobs but now we are tired," said Tran Thi Them, 32, as she queued for a compulsory COVID-19 test before leaving.
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