Society

Ho Chi Minh City will reopen local tourism activities from now until October 31, including travel, accommodation, and sightseeing services. From the beginning of November, it will reopen inter-provincial tourism and then international tourism in 2022.

The Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs has issued Official Letter No. 3582 to the Vietnam Social Security seeking comments on the retirement policy for employees working in areas with extremely difficult socio-economic conditions, such as highlands, remote areas, border areas, and islands. Employees with a full 15 years in the workforce will be able to retire five years earlier under the policy.

With the number of new cases of community transmission of Covid-19 standing at 0.025 per 100,000 people each week and the rate of people over 18 years of age having received at least one dose of vaccine reaching nearly 98 per cent, Hanoi has become a “green zone” under pandemic control regulations.

Nearly 24 million employees hit by Covid-19 have been given a total of VND21.89 trillion ($961.76 million) out of a support package of VND26 trillion ($1.14 billion). The Unemployment Insurance Fund has also supported more than 540,000 workers affected by Covid-19, with a total amount of VND1.25 trillion ($54.92 million).

The nursing home market in Vietnam is still very much in its infancy. Only 32 of the country’s 63 cities and provinces have specialized facilities for the elderly, so demand for nursing homes and elderly care centers is huge. The State is now perfecting mechanisms and policies to encourage private enterprises to join the market and expand the nursing home network.

As of September 30, only VND462 billion ($20.4 million) of an interest-free loan package to pay the salaries of more than 130,000 employees had been disbursed, or 6.1 per cent of the total capital. The government has therefore decided to ease the lending conditions on these loans.