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In a communication to Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Wednesday, it said for Covid to be considered a common illness, it needs to meet certain criteria like occurring in a specific population group or area and incidence being stable and predictable.

However, in most countries, the number of infections has been fluctuating and the trajectory of infections changes every time there is a new variant of the novel coronavirus.

The new variants constantly appear as immunity, built up either via vaccination or infection, is not stable and decreases over time, the ministry said.

As a result, the disease could flare up again, it said.

In March the PM had instructed the ministry to evaluate the degree of protection antibodies provide against the coronavirus.

Covid has been under control across the country, but the number of cases increased again recently and there are still deaths.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said Wednesday that Vietnam is among the top four countries in terms of number of cases.

It has been recording over 571,000 new cases the past week, only behind South Korea (713,000 cases), the U.S. (760,000) and Japan (1.4 million cases), WHO said.

To declare the end of Covid-19 as a pandemic, several conditions need to be met, including “detecting no new cases for 28 days in a row” the ministry said.

If Vietnam does make such a declaration, special mechanisms would not be imposed if a new and more dangerous variant appears, it pointed out.

Then Covid patients would stop getting free treatment, including those living in remote areas without easy access to medical services, and medical workers would not get special allowances. There would be no specific mechanisms for emergency use of vaccines.

Maintaining the current status ensures focus and mobilization of all available resources to fight the pandemic, the ministry said.

“Vietnam has basically met the necessary conditions for the transition from pandemic prevention to sustainable management, but still needs to be alert to new variants of the virus.”

Vietnam has among the highest vaccine coverage rates in the world with 247 million vaccine doses given to its 79.4 million people.

Since April the ministry has expanded the vaccination to cover children aged five and upward. Those aged 12 and above are being given booster shots and a fourth dose is highly recommended for high-risk adults.

The ministry also wants to keep Covid-19 in group A, which comprises dangerous infectious diseases with the ability to spread quickly and widely, and have a high mortality rate or an unknown causative agent.

Some others in this group include influenza A – H5N1, plague, smallpox, dengue fever, and cholera.

So far no country has declared Covid a common illness.

Some have fixed criteria to consider it an endemic disease, including low mortality, reduced rate of severe cases requiring hospitalization, and high vaccine coverage of various age groups, especially high-risk populations.

In March WHO released an updated plan with key strategies to allow the world to end the emergency phase of the pandemic if implemented within this year.

They include vaccinating 70 percent of the world against Covid.

As of August 9 some 62.8 percent were fully vaccinated with at least two doses.

The Ministry of Health will continue to follow recommendations by the World Health Organization (WHO), experience from other countries and will determine whether to vaccinate children under 5 against Covid-19 or not based on science.

A vaccine expert said the decision stemmed from the fact that there is not yet enough scientific basis and evidence on Covid-19 vaccination for children under 5.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said in June that Pfizer and Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccines can be used on children under 5. But a New York Times survey revealed 43% of parents with children under 5 would not let their children be vaccinated against Covid-19, 27% would “wait”, and 13% comply on request.

Their main concerns were the vaccines’ side effects, their novelty and what they perceived as the lack of sufficient research.

As of Wednesday, Vietnam has administered over 249 million Covid-19 vaccine shots, with all children aged 12-17 having received at least two, and 40% three. A total 73% of children aged 5-11 have received at least one Covid-19 vaccine shot, and 41%, two.

When summer began this year Truong Ngoc Quynh Nhu of HCMC’s District 3 was as usual struggling to find a safe place near home for her eight-year-old son and five-year-old daughter to play.

She says summer is the “most stressful time” of the year for her because she wants her children to have fun during their holidays but she and her husband are too busy with work to take them on trips.

Since there is no playground near their home, the couple take turns bringing the kids to Tao Dan Park, about 20 minutes away, on weekends. In Vietnam parks often double up as playgrounds for kids, with authorities installing play equipment in many of them.

“I want my children to have a safe place to play. Therefore, this year, like every other year, I have sent them to their grandparents’ in the countryside.”

The 34-year-old says she wants them to have a place to run around and hang out with other kids instead of “burying their heads at home in video games or TV.”

Theirs is a common problem since parks and playgrounds are insufficient in urban areas with few new ones being built and existing ones becoming degraded or being misused.

A decrepit public park in HCMC’s District 5 in August 2022. Photo by VnExpress/Dang Khoa

HCMC has 405 parks , both public and inside residential projects, with central districts having more and larger parks than outlying ones.

Binh Tan, the most populated district in HCMC with around 784,000 people, is the most notable example: this outlying district does not have a single public park.

It has a few small and medium-sized parks of 1,000-10,000 square meters, but all are inside private housing projects.

The same goes for Districts 12, Nha Be, Hoc Mon, Cu Chi, and Binh Chanh, where there are no large-sized public parks.

The city’s urban planners claim to have around 11,400 hectares reserved for public parks, but in reality there are only around 500 hectares of parks.

Officials admit that rapid urbanization is eroding the city’s green space.

Hanoi too

Hanoi also suffers from a shortage of playgrounds, parks and other outdoor public spaces.

According to statistics from the Department of Construction, the inner city area has 63 parks and flower gardens on a total of 280 hectares, or about 2% of the city’s land area.

The four central districts of Hai Ba Trung, Ba Dinh, Hoan Kiem, and Dong Da account for 30 of them and 1.92%.

“When my son says he wants to go out, I often take him to a nearby mall; that is where we play,” Truong Vu Bao says.

The 30-year-old in Hanoi’s Long Bien District says his house is small and there are no near public outdoor spaces for his son to play and relieve stress after school.

The nearest park, a 15-minute drive from his home, is always occupied by adults coming to work out or eat street food with their friends.

The next closest park is too small to accommodate the large number of children coming to play during summer and other holidays.

Due to their busy work schedule, he and his wife can only take their second grader son to the cinema, pool or the district’s culture and sports center once in two weeks.

After the school year ended recently Bao did not hesitate for a moment before sending his son down to his father’s hometown in Thanh Hoa Province for a one-month summer experience in the countryside.

Safety is also a big concern. Many parents reject taking their children to public playgrounds and parks since they are occupied by businesses or are decrepit.

Unlike for Bao and Nhu, there is a small public park within walking distance from Truong Thi Cuc’s house in Cau Giay District.

But the 27-year-old does not consider herself luckier than other parents since it does not feel safe to let her five-year-old daughter play here.

She says the park is situated near a roundabout and lots of vehicles drive by, and is badly downgraded. Many of the swings, slides and other equipment are rusted and broken, potentially posing a danger to children, she says.

“It is impossible for me to fully enjoy the space.”

A sidewalk cafe outside a public park in HCMC’s District 10. Photo by VnExpress/Dang Khoa

Officials admit there is a lack of green public spaces in Hanoi and playgrounds are degrading.

Chairman of the city people’s council, Nguyen Ngoc Tuan, says Hanoi lacks cultural, sports and park facilities to meet public needs.

Many parents are concerned that the shortage of places to play might impact their children’s mental, physical and behavioral development.

Like Nhu, Phan Minh Cam Tu of HCMC’s District 10 too fears that the lack of play areas will cause her 15-year-old son to become addicted to electronic devices.

The boy wanted to go to her parents’ house in the southern An Giang Province where there is place for physical activity, but Tu could not send him there because the old couple had been sick and cannot take care of him.

Since she has to go to work, there are days when she has to let her son stay at home and play video games all day despite knowing it is not good for him.

“I am afraid he will develop game addiction.”

This, she fears, might cause him to neglect his studies and become anti-social and affect his development.

With rapid urban development crowding out children’s public spaces, authorities are planning to build more outdoor playgrounds and parks and green spaces.

The HCMC people’s committee unveiled a plan in May to build at least 10 hectares of new public parks and two hectares of public green areas this year.

It seeks to expand the public park area to at least 150 hectares by 2025.

The goal is that, by 2030, there will be one square meter of parkland per citizen, almost double the current 0.55 square meters.

Similarly, the Hanoi administration has a program to renovate many existing parks and build six new ones in 2021-25.

It targets average public and green space of 3.02 square meters per person in the central districts by 2030.

Knowing the importance of playing outdoor for kids, Nhu is considering buying a high-end apartment in District 7 with a small park and playground right on the property so that her children can spend more time outside and less on electronic devices.

“I want them to socialize, learn to make new friends and to share, and improve their physical health.”

But that is a long-term plan. She says in the meantime, if her kids want to go out, “I’ll take them to Tao Dan Park and keep an eye on them constantly, or take them to a mall near our house.”

Russian forces have continued their new offensive in the east of Ukraine, assaulting cities and towns along a front hundreds of kilometres long.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Russian military was throwing everything it has into the battle, which could be pivotal for control of the country’s eastern industrial heartland.

Read more about Wednesday’s events as they unfolded in our blog below, and watch our TV reporting in the video player above.

04.20.2022

07:31

Wednesday’s key points:

• Ukraine says a planned evacuation of civilians from Mariupol did not work as planned, blaming Russia for not holding to a ceasefire despite an agreement on a humanitarian corridor. Efforts will resume on Thursday.

• Russia’s surrender deadline for Mariupol expired Wednesday afternoon, as the city’s Ukrainian defenders say they are facing their “last hours”.

• Russia has tested a new intercontinental ballistic missile, which Putin says should make its enemies “think twice”. The US responded that the launch was “routine” and did not constitute “a threat”.

• Russian troops have poured into eastern Ukraine in what both sides describe as a new phase of the war, a potentially pivotal battle for control of the country’s industrial heartland.

• Visiting Kyiv, European Council President Charles Michel said Putin would succeed neither in destroying Ukraine’s sovereignty, nor in dividing the EU. Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy said that his country’s joining the EU would be a “priority”.

• Russia says it has presented Ukraine with a draft document outlining its demands as part of potential peace talks, but Kyiv says it hasn’t received it .

• The number of refugees fleeing Ukraine has topped five million, says the UN.

• Poll finds majority of Swedes are in favour of joining NATO, as the country deliberates membership of the defensive alliance. Finland’s parliament has also opened a debate on its NATO stance.

• Wimbledon has banned tennis players from Russia and Belarus from this summer’s tournament.

04.20.2022

22:51

EU’s Michel calls for justice for war crimes during Kyiv visit

European Council President Charles Michel used the trip to reaffirm the EU’s support for the eastern European nation as it fights to repel Moscow’s invasion.

He also travelled to Borodianka, a small town outside Kyiv, where alleged atrocities were committed by Russian forces.

Read more and watch the report :

No Ukraine peace demands received from Russia, says Zelenskyy

euronews The Ukrainian president said he not seen or heard about any draft document that Moscow says it has passed on indicating its requirements to end the war. #EuropeNews

04.20.2022

22:32

Mariupol evacuation effort to resume Thursday after latest breakdown

A top Ukrainian official said Wednesday’s planned evacuation of civilians from Mariupol has failed because of the Russian failure to observe a cease-fire.

Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said “the humanitarian corridor didn’t work as planned” on Wednesday. She added that “the occupiers have failed to ensure a proper cease-fire die to the lack of control over its own military.”

Vereshchuk also charged that “due to the sloppiness” of the Russian military, it has failed to timely deliver those who were willing to evacuate to an area where Ukrainian buses were waiting for them.

She said that efforts to evacuate civilians from Mariupol will resume Thursday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said about 120,000 people remain under siege in the city.

(AP)

04.20.2022

21:47

Walkout at G20 in protest at Russia

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Ukraine’s Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko walked out of a Group of 20 meeting Wednesday as Russia’s representative started talking.

Several finance ministers and central bank governors also left the room, according an official familiar with the meetings, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the event was not public. Some ministers and central bank governors who attended the meeting virtually turned their cameras off when the Russia representative spoke, the person said.

The brutal effects of Russia’s war against Ukraine have taken center stage at the International Monetary Fund and World Bank spring meetings, in which finance heads gather to tackle the world’s most pressing issues.

President Joe Biden has said that Russia should not remain a member of the G-20, an international body of the world’s biggest economies that promotes economic cooperation between countries.

(AP)

04.20.2022

21:45

Blinken blames Russia for Mariupol evacuation failures

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expressing concerns about a humanitarian corridor Ukraine is trying to set up to evacuate people trapped by Russian forces in Mariupol.

“The conditions there, the situation there, as a result of this Russian aggression, are truly horrific,” Blinken said Wednesday. “Of course, we want to see people who are in harm’s way, if they are able to, to leave it safely and securely.”

Blinken said the U.S. is trying to help by sharing its assessments, but the decision to risk leaving shelter is ultimately up to the Ukrainian government and the people themselves.

“What gives pause is the fact there have been agreements on humanitarian corridors established before that have fallen apart very, very quickly, if not immediately, principally because the security has been violated by Russian forces. And so people leaving, believing that they could do so safely and securely, were fired on,” he said. “We will do everything that we can to try to inform that decision.”

Blinken said the world witnessed “death and destruction and atrocities” after the Russians retreated from Bucha, and “we can only anticipate that when this tide also recedes from Mariupol we’re going to see far worse, if that’s possible to imagine.”

(AP)

04.20.2022

21:42

Zelenskyy offers trade for trapped Mariupol civilians

About 1,000 civilians are trapped at a steel mill in Mariupol along with Ukrainian soldiers, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday.

“Behind the backs of our guys in Mariupol there are around a thousand civilians, including women and children,” he said after talks with European Council President Charles Michel.

Zelenskyy added that Russia has stonewalled Ukraine’s attempts to negotiate a safe exit for them. “We are open to different formats of exchange of our people for Russian people, Russian military that they have left behind,” he said.

Ukraine also has tried to get Russia to agree on a humanitarian corridor to evacuate the 120,000 people who Zelenskyy said remain under siege in Mariupol.

(AP)

04.20.2022

20:06

Mariupol evacuation stalls, Ukraine blames Russia

Ukraine’s deputy prime minister said on Wednesday that an agreed humanitarian corridor to evacuate civilians from the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol had not worked as planned, blaming Russian forces for not holding their ceasefire.

Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk also said Russian-organised buses failed to deliver evacuees on time to the point where Ukrainian buses and ambulances were waiting.

Ukrainian officials estimated that about 1,000 civilians were sheltering underneath the vast Azovstal steel plant, which is the last Ukrainian stronghold in the southeastern port city of Mariupol.

Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday said that country’s armed forces have been unable to “unblock” Mariupol, which has been besieged by Russian forces in a recent push by its military.

He was speaking at a news conference alongside European Council President Charles Michel.

Michel is the latest European leader to visit Zelenskyy in Kyiv since the beginning of the conflict.

(Reuters and AP)

04.20.2022

18:55

Testing of Russian missile ‘not a threat’, says US

The Pentagon has responded to Russia’s test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile, saying it does not constitute “a threat” to the United States or its allies.

The US Department of Defense spokesman John Kirby described the launch as “no surprise.”

Moscow “appropriately informed” the US that it would take place, in accordance with Russia’s obligations under existing nuclear treaties.

According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the test fire took place at 3:12 p.m. (12:12 GMT) and hit a target located more than 5,000 kilometres away.

Vladimir Putin praised the Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile as “a unique weapon.”

“[It] will ensure Russia’s security against external threats. and which will make potential opponents think twice,” he said.

The missile – which weighs over 200 tons – is supposed to outperform previous Russian models, which can hit targets 11,000 km away.

04.20.2022

18:45

Zelenskyy: Ukraine ‘ready’ to swap Russian prisoners of war

Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, says he is ready to swap Russian prisoners of war in exchange for safe passage for civilians and Ukrainian troops in Mariupol.

Zelenskyy said there are an estimated 1,000 civilians sheltering in Mariupol’s Azovstal steel plant, following a visit from President of the European Council, Charles Michel.

He added that the situation in the besieged Ukrainian city is worsening, with hundreds of wounded without access to medical care.

The Ukrainian leader went on to say that he had not seen or heard about a document that the Kremlin said it had sent to Ukraine in connection with peace talks.

Earlier Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said Moscow was waiting for a response after it had handed a document to the Ukrainian side.

04.20.2022

18:12

New Russian offensive in Kyiv still possible, warns city’s mayor

In an interview with Euronews, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko did not rule out a another Russian offensive against the Ukrainian capital.