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Will Samsung’s $17b US investment be enough to survive chip race?

The race to outpace competitors with massive capacity expansions is intensifying among global chip manufacturers and the time for Samsung Electronics to announce its own investment plans is approaching.

While South Korea is pinning its hopes on Samsung, the world’s No. 1 memory player, to announce massive investments as early as this week, the market is paying close attention to the size of its spending commitment and whether it will be enough for the Korean chipmaker to maintain its presence in the global chip market.

What fueled the attention was a report that Taiwan’s TSMC, the world’s top semiconductor foundry, is considering another investment in the US.

According to Reuters, the Taiwanese chipmaker is mulling a plan to build a more advanced 3-nanometer process chip fabrication line in Phoenix, Arizona, which would cost $23 billion to $25 billion over the next 10 to 15 years, in addition to its previously announced $10 billion to $12 billion investment plan for a 5-nm fab.

The Taiwanese firm’s plan reportedly has shifted from Europe to the US, due to the financial support promised by the US government. President Joe Biden has called for $50 billion in funding to support domestic chip manufacturing.

Its move seems highly strategic in that TSMC will have to compete with US-based chipmaker Intel that is investing $20 billion to re-enter the foundry market and Korea’s Samsung for the subsidies from the US government.

Unlike TSMC’s aggressive moves since last year, Samsung has remained silent about its expansion in the US for years.

However, with the Korea-US summit to be held in Washington this week, the market is paying keen attention to a possible announcement from Samsung about how it will deal with the ongoing investment fever in the chip market.

Top officials from Samsung’s semiconductor business are likely to join the business group accompanying President Moon Jae-in during his visit to the US this week.

Samsung has also been invited to a meeting to be hosted by the US Ministry of Commerce on semiconductors one day before the summit on Friday.

Among others, how much Samsung would invest in its US chip manufacturing site and how that would contribute to boosting the US chip manufacturing are at the center of market attention.

Rumors have circulated that the Korean chipmaker will invest $17 billion to build its second foundry plant in Austin, Texas, and introduce the 7-nm and 5-nm processes to its US facility.

“The semiconductor market is all about investment,” said an industry insider. “Making investments earlier than rivals is important to take over the leadership.”

“It would be better for Samsung not to put off its investment plan once again to maintain its position in the US market,” he added.

Published : May 18, 2021

By : Song Su-hyun/The Korea Herald/ANN

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Japan mulls special residency status for foreigners who married same-sex Japanese overseas

The government is considering granting residency status to same-sex foreign spouses whose marriage to Japanese nationals has been recognized overseas, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.

The government is looking into granting the “designated activities” status of residence to foreign nationals upon their Japanese partner’s return to Japan, sources said. As the number of countries legalizing same-sex marriages is growing, there have been calls to improve Japan’s status system to accommodate them.

Under the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Law, foreign nationals of the opposite sex married to a Japanese citizen are allowed to reside in Japan with a spousal visa. But because same-sex marriages are currently not legal in Japan, even those whose marriage is recognized overseas are not eligible for status as a “spouse.” The partner needs to obtain other residency status, such as for certain employment.

Given that, the government intends to tweak the application of the law so that the “designated activities” status can be granted to such foreign nationals, as long as they can prove their marital relationship by presenting official overseas documents or other means.

However, this does not mean that Japan will recognize same-sex marriages from a legal standpoint.

The “designated activities” status is granted by the justice minister based on an individual examination of the content of the activities, such as for participants in working holiday programs.

In the case of same-sex couples who are both foreign nationals, if same-sex marriages are recognized in both of their countries and one of them has a working visa or other status allowing residency, the other can be granted designated activities status.

In 2013, the Justice Ministry issued a notification calling for efforts to allow same-sex foreign couples to lead stable lives in Japan in a manner similar to their home countries. According to the Immigration Services Agency, following the release of the official notice, designated activities status was granted in 93 cases through 2020.

The Justice Ministry said it has received requests to grant such status for same-sex couples comprised of Japanese and foreign nationals. There has even been a case in which such a couple sued the government after the foreign partner was not granted the residency status.

There are about 30 countries, mainly Western nations such as the United States and Britain, that recognize same-sex marriages as of May 2020, according to the Tokyo-based nonprofit organization EMA (Equal Marriage Alliance) Japan.

Published : May 18, 2021

By : The Japan News/ANN

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EU urged to seal deal on investment

Premier Li Keqiang has called for concerted efforts from both China and the European Union to advance the signing of the bilateral investment agreement to make it take effect as soon as possible, saying China-EU cooperation is conducive to the global economic recovery.

Li made the call in a telephone conversation with his Italian counterpart Mario Draghi on Monday.

Noting China considers its relationship with the EU greatly important, Li said a united and prosperous EU is a significant force to safeguard world peace, uphold multilateralism and promote free trade.

Both sides should work together to enhance pragmatic cooperation with openness, and strive to resolve their differences through dialogue and consultation on the basis of mutual respect, he said.

Li expressed hope that Italy, as an important EU member, could continue to play a positive role in promoting the healthy and stable development of China-EU ties.

In response, Draghi said the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment is an important consensus and Italy supports advancing the follow-up process through dialogue at an early date.

At the end of last year, China and the EU announced conclusion of negotiations on the bilateral investment agreement, which is expected to come into force after both parties complete their respective legal procedures.

In late March, the European Parliament decided to cancel a review meeting of the investment agreement over China’s sanctions on some individuals and entities on the EU side who severely harmed China’s sovereignty and interests and maliciously spread lies and disinformation.

The Chinese sanctions came after the EU imposed sanctions on related Chinese individuals and entities on March 22, citing so-called human rights issues in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

China has said the investment agreement is mutually beneficial, and it is ready to communicate and coordinate with the EU on the early implementation of the deal for the benefit of both sides and the world.

On China-Italy relations, Li said both countries are comprehensive strategic partners and share deep historical bonds and a strong convergence of interests.

He mentioned the countries’ joint fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, and said China is willing to work with Italy to promote bilateral cooperation in trade, investment, energy and climate change, expand cultural and people-to-people exchanges and strengthen collaboration within the framework of the Group of 20.

Hailing the bilateral ties, Draghi said Italy stands ready to intensify economic cooperation as well as communication and coordination on multilateral issues, jointly advance international cooperation to fight the pandemic, promote global economic recovery and cope with the challenges of climate change.

Published : May 18, 2021

By : CAO DESHENG/China Daily/ANN

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40000999

Several countries delaying second Covid-19 vaccine dose

SINGAPORE – A number of countries around the world have opted to delay dispensing the second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine as they rush to offer protection to more people as early as possible.

Alonger interval between shots has not been tested in clinical trials, but some scientists said the move to delay was sensible, given the emergence of several highly transmissible variants of the coronavirus.

The recommendation for the second dose varies among vaccines, from as early as 21 days and up to 12 weeks apart.

“You’ll save far, far more lives – on the order of tens of thousands more lives – giving those extra vaccine doses to people for their first shot, getting them from zero to 85 per cent protected, than using that same capacity (for) giving people their second shot and getting them from 85 to 95 (per cent efficacy),” Dr Robert Wachter, from the University of California’s Department of Medicine, told bi-weekly magazine Science News.

In January, Britain was among the first to take what was then considered an unusual step to delay the second dose of the vaccine by up to 12 weeks to prioritise first jabs to as many people as possible. The country is dispensing three types of vaccines – Pfizer, Moderna and home-grown AstraZeneca.

The move followed a spike in cases in December last year and in January this year, driven mostly by the B117 variant.

That policy resulted in Britain being “one of the countries with the highest vaccine uptake rates in the world”, said Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi.

Almost 36 million people have had their first dose, and 20 million among them have had the second.

This has allowed Britain to ease its restrictions from Monday (May 17), allowing indoor dining to return in pubs, cafes and restaurants, while cinemas, museums and sports venues were reopened for the first time in months.

Following on the heels of Britain, Denmark in April approved a delay of up to six weeks between the first and second shots of its Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.

Increasing the gap between the doses means that more people will receive their first dose sooner, providing for wider immunity in the Danish population, the Danish Health Authority said.

However, it also cautioned that the original interval of three to four weeks should be followed whenever possible.

Neighbouring Norway followed suit, extending the interval between the first and second doses of its Pfizer and Moderna vaccines from six to 12 weeks for adults under 65 years old.

The Institute of Public Health and health ministry said the decision would allow all adults to receive their first jabs by July 25, up from the previous estimate of Aug 29.

“Increasing the interval will allow many more to be vaccinated earlier. This will prevent serious illness and death, and reduce the overall level of infection in society,” Health Minister Bent Hoeie was quoted as saying.

In France, the authorities have delayed the second jab from four weeks to six weeks since Friday to speed up its inoculation campaign.

“(It) will allow us to vaccinate more quickly without reducing protection,” Health Minister Olivier Veran told the JDD newspaper.

In the United States, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention updated its guidance to allow up to 42 days between doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, to make it more flexible for people to get their second shots.

Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunisation (Naci) released a guidance in March that allowed provinces to extend the time between first and second doses to a maximum of four months – if vaccines are in short supply.

“The important thing that we’ve learnt is that these vaccines work, they give a very high level of protection and that protection lasts for many months,” Yahoo News Canada quoted Dr Bonnie Henry, British Columbia health officer, as saying.

“Extending this second dose provides very high, real-world protection to more people sooner,” she added.

Canada has been hit by a third wave of the pandemic, compounded by a slow vaccine roll-out due to supply issues and shipment delays. Many provinces remain in extended lockdowns even as the country ramped up its vaccination campaign.

Not all experts, however, are convinced about the need to delay the second dose, worried that the presence of partially immunised people could fuel more dangerous variants.

“The virus is going to evolve in response to antibodies, irrespective of how we administer vaccines,” Dr Paul Bieniasz, a retrovirologist at Rockefeller University, was quoted as saying by Scientific American magazine. “The question is: Would we be accelerating that evolution by creating country-size populations of individuals with partial immunity?”

Published : May 18, 2021

By : Eileen Ng/The Straits Times/ANN

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[Vietnam] Leading medical experts head to Bắc Giang to combat COVID-19 at new clusters

BẮC GIANG — Leading medical experts from the health ministry were dispatched to lend a hand to Bắc Giang on Saturday night after the northern province reported rapid transmission of COVID-19 over the weekend.

The working group included leaders of the Institute of Occupational and Environmental Health, National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Department of Preventive Medicine, Department of Health Environment Management and Hà Nội’s Bạch Mai Hospital.

From Friday to Sunday morning, the province confirmed more than 250 new cases of COVID-19.

According to Lê Ánh Dương, chairman of the province People’s Committee, Bắc Giang now has three complicated clusters in Hosiden Vietnam Ltd Company and Quang Châu Industrial Park.

“The infection rate is very quick due to cold, enclosed working environment and low ceiling,” he said.

About 160,000 labourers from 14 localities nationwide are working at industrial parks in Bắc Giang.

The chairman said local authorities would consider suspending operations of companies which do not observe COVID-19 prevention protocols.

The province will not close all industrial parks but only small ones, he said.

The province has set up a third field hospital and is making plans for a fourth and fifth.

Also on Saturday, more than 200 medical workers from Việt Nam-Sweden Uông Bí Hospital and the health department of northern Quảng Ninh Province were sent to help Bắc Giang.

Associate Professor Trần Như Dương, deputy director of the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, a member of the health ministry’s working group to Bắc Giang, said the province should track down cases not only at industrial parks but also in the community.

He urged the local medical sector to mobilise COVID-19 community working groups to track down the cases.

Dr Nguyễn Trọng Khoa, deputy head of Agency of Health Examination and Treatment, said testing must also be conducted at healthcare facilities on medical workers and relatives of patients. The field hospitals will admit COVID-19 patients who do not show symptoms. The provincial general hospital will receive serious cases.

Experts of the health ministry asked Bắc Giang Province to ensure hygiene at quarantine sites and avoid cross-infection there.

Learning from Hải Dương’s experience, they said local authorities must take into consideration food supply at quarantined sites to ensure food safety.

Before putting people into buses to quarantine sites, they must go through medical screening. People who show symptoms of fever and coughing must be on different buses from others, Associate Professor Dương from the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, said.

Minister of Health Nguyễn Thanh Long ordered the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology to help Bắc Giang Province conduct quick tests.

The health ministry presented 4,000 quick test kits to Bắc Giang to assist the province in the short term.

Long requested local authorities strictly monitor quarantine sites and install cameras to detect violations. — VNS

Published : May 17, 2021

By : Viet Nam News/ANN

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South Korea to resume first-round vaccinations after supply restored

South Korea will resume offering first doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine this coming weekend, health authorities said Sunday. Their use was suspended early this month so the scarce resource could be reserved for people getting their second shots.

The unstable supply put a stop to the use of Pfizer’s vaccine across the country for people getting their first shots. The government is currently providing second doses of the American vaccine to seniors who received their first shots in April.

“Starting (May) 22, we will focus on carrying out the first Pfizer shots for three weeks. After that, the second jabs of Pfizer’s vaccine will be the focal point until late June,” the government’s COVID-19 response task force said in a statement.

The resumption of first shots from Pfizer will affect 2.04 million people. If the planned vaccinations are completed in the coming weeks, more than 80 percent of the target population — senior citizens aged 75 and over — will be vaccinated.

The supply imbalance has also affected first shots of AstraZeneca’s vaccine. While the vaccine is mostly being used for second jabs at the moment, the government aims to restart first inoculations with AstraZeneca’s vaccine May 27. People between the ages of 65 and 74 and people with severe chronic respiratory diseases are eligible for the vaccination.

A total of 3,733,796 people, about 7.3 percent of the population, have received their first jabs of COVID-19 vaccines so far, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. The proportion of people who have gotten their second shots stands at 1.8 percent.

As the country’s inoculation drive has proceeded more slowly than expected, its impact seems to have made no difference in the number of COVID-19 cases.

The KDCA announced a total of 1,291 newly confirmed cases diagnosed Friday and Saturday, with the daily tally in the 600s both days. The country’s overall number of cases to date was 131,671 as of Sunday.

Payouts for side effects

Starting Monday, the government will compensate people who develop severe symptoms after receiving a COVID-19 vaccination even if they cannot prove a connection between the vaccine and the symptoms. These people can receive up to 10 million won ($8,853) each.

Previously, government compensation for vaccine side effects was limited to cases where cause and effect was considered to have been proven.

“(The subsidy support) is implemented to protect patients who show severe side effects after inoculation and lack evidence to prove the causality between the vaccine and the side effects,” KDCA chief Jeong Eun-kyeong said in a press briefing earlier last week. “It is to strengthen the country’s responsibility.”

The vaccine response task force explained that the support is for those cases where it is hard to determine a causal link, but one cannot say there is no connection due to lack of proof.

The revised payout scheme came amid a growing number of people who have shown severe side effects after vaccination. So far, only two cases out of 156 patients who experienced side effects post-jabs were proven to have a causal connection.

People eligible for the financial support are those who had been hospitalized in an intensive care unit or have gone through similar adverse effects after vaccination, but were excluded from the compensation list due to insufficient evidence to substantiate their claims of causality.

But no payment will be made for illnesses and injuries that “happened for reasons other than receiving the vaccine” or “clearly has no connection at all with inoculation,” the health authorities said. It also does not cover expenses for treating underlying diseases, or for nursing or funeral costs.

There are currently five people who meet the eased standards, according to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters. The government plans to examine previous cases to see if any more are eligible for the financial support.

People who have experienced severe symptoms after vaccinations but whose cases were previously dismissed by damage investigation authorities can apply for the aid at their local public health centers.

Published : May 17, 2021

By : Kan Hyeong-woo/The Korea Herald/ANN

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Jakarta ranked world’s most environmentally vulnerable city

The Big Durian has been ranked as the world’s most environmentally vulnerable metropolitan, as climate change, pollution, heatwaves, earthquakes and flooding are key threats to the capital’s residents and businesses.

Jakarta was dubbed the “worst-performing city in the ranking”, followed by India’s Delhi – each of which houses more than 10 million people – in a study of the world’s 576 largest cities conducted by United Kingdom-based business risk consultancy Verisk Maplecroft.

Indonesia’s financial hub and most densely-populated city scored particularly bad in terms of air pollution, earthquakes and flooding. The report noted that Bandung and Surabaya were also among the world’s top 10 most environmentally vulnerable cities.

“With rising emissions driving weather-related risk and populations growing in many cities across the developing world, the risks to citizens, real assets and commercial operations are only going to rise,” wrote Verisk Maplecroft head of environment and climate change Will Nichols of the report published on Wednesday.

A case in point, flooding in Jakarta in 2020 forced more than 34,000 residents to leave their homes and, according to Indonesian Entrepreneurs Association (Hippi) chair Sarman Simanjorang, cost an estimated Rp 1 trillion (US$70.05 million) in economic losses as stores were closed and supply chains disrupted.

Acting Jakarta Environment Agency head Syarifudin said traffic congestion and air and water pollution were common in large cities worldwide. The Jakarta administration has implemented measures to curb these problems, but cooperation with neighboring regions remains important, he added.

“Controlling water pollution in rivers, for example, requires the Depok, Bekasi, Bogor [West Java] and Tangerang [Banten] administrations to curb water pollution in their respective areas because our rivers are connected,” he said on Sunday.

Jakarta’s environmental risk is so dire that Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo admitted in 2019 that it was one of the main reasons the government wanted to move the country’s capital to East Kalimantan.

“We need to stop overwhelming Jakarta with overpopulation, traffic congestion and water and air pollution. We have to tackle these problems,” Jokowi said at a press conference at Merdeka Palace on Aug. 26, 2019.

Greenpeace Southeast Asia climate and energy campaigner Tata Mustasya said on Saturday that the government’s commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions was key to mitigating Jakarta’s environmental and climate risks.

Indonesia, as per its commitment to the landmark Paris Agreement, has committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by at least 29 percent relative to a business-as-usual scenario by 2030, but many researchers are skeptical as to the country’s chances of success, mainly due to its growing use of fossil fuels.

In March, the Environment and Forestry Ministry announced that the government was planning to set a net-zero emissions target for 2070.

“Indonesia’s commitment toward net zero emissions is, so far, set for 2070, which would be too late, because climate change would devastate people’s livelihoods by then, especially those living in vulnerable areas like Jakarta,” he told The Jakarta Post via phone call.

Meanwhile, Rujak Center for Urban Studies executive director Elisa Sutanudjaja urged the Jakarta administration to tighten regulations related to the city’s transportation industry to curb air pollution.

The city’s policy, as embodied by the Jakarta Cleaner Air program, assumes that motorized vehicles contribute the largest share to Jakarta’s air pollution at 46 percent. Thus, Jakarta has launched several programs to curb transportation pollution, such as by expanding public transportation and implementing no-emission zones.

“For regional administrations, the easiest and fastest mitigation solution is intervening in the transportation and mobility sector,” she said.

Notably, environmental groups, such as the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), have challenged the city’s assumptions with maps showing that most pollution comes from coal-fired power plants in the neighboring provinces of Banten and West Java.

Published : May 17, 2021

By : Divya Karyza/The Jakarta Post/ANN

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Chinese FM urges Washington to contribute to Gaza stability

In a manifestation of Chinas commitment to cooling the soaring tension between Palestine and Israel, Beijings senior diplomats have publicly spoken out at Washington for thwarting international efforts in brokering an early cease-fire.

State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged all members of the United Nations Security Council to shoulder their “due responsibilities” and effectively preserve the region’s peace and security.

As a sign of the tension’s severity, the Chinese embassy in Israel updated its travel alert on Wednesday advising Chinese citizens to monitor the situation and take appropriate precautions.

An Israeli airstrike destroyed the 13-floor al-Jalaa building housing media outlets including Al-Jazeera television and The Associated Press in the Gaza Strip on Saturday.

At the UN headquarters in New York, the Security Council has held two rounds of emergency closed-door consultations on the Palestine-Israel issue so far this month.

However, both meetings failed to release a statement to cool the tension as the United States stood alone in opposing the release.

China, the rotating president of the Security Council for May, pushed the council to hold the two consultations. Wang said during a phone conversation with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Saturday that China has drafted a statement in a bid to navigate the council to take actions.

But the Security Council has so far failed to reach an agreement on the issue, and the US stands “on the opposite side of international justice”, Wang added.

The US, having claimed to care about the human rights of Muslims, “should know that the lives of Palestinian Muslims equally matter”, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Friday.

A group of Beijing-based diplomats of Arab countries and the Arab League met on Wednesday with Zhai Jun, China’s special envoy on Middle East issues, to discuss Beijing’s further role in promoting de-escalation.

Zhai made clear Beijing’s concerns over the escalation, urging all parties involved, especially Israel, to maintain restraint to avoid further casualties.

At the heart of the issue’s recent drastic deterioration is that the Middle East peace process has deviated from its original track in recent years, the UN Security Council resolutions have not been tangibly implemented and, in particular, the Palestinian right to build an independent state has been continuously violated, Wang said on Saturday.

An ultimate way out of the Palestinian issue lies in the implementation of the two-state solution, and the Security Council should urge Palestine and Israel to resume peace talks on the basis of the two-state solution as soon as possible, he added.

China is scheduled to host a Security Council open debate on Sunday to discuss the tension, and Wang will chair the debate and deliver a speech via video link in an effort to end the hostility and restarting political dialogue.

Diplomats said an earlier proposal for the debate to be held on Friday was blocked by the US.

In response, Zhang Jun, China’s permanent representative to the UN, wrote in a tweet that the Security Council “should act now and send a strong message”.

Published : May 17, 2021

By : ZHANG YUNBI/China Daily/ANN

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[Myanmar] More than Ks200 billion deposited in banks last week: Central Bank Vice Governor

Central Bank of Myanmar Vice Governor Win Thaw said that within the past week, more than two hundred billion kyats were deposited in banks.

He answered the question posed by the media at the press conference of the State Administration Council, held at the Ministry of Information in Nay Pyi Taw on 15th  May .     

Win Thaw said that “In the past week the amount of cash newly deposited was more than 200 billion kyats. Within a week 200 billion was deposited. It was a clear message that there was participation with the bank. Along with that message there was participation of people’s trust. He further said that on their side with the temporary breakdown of the internet they were able to make use of mobile data. Due to that there was no need  to go to the bank without necessity.”

In addition, when Digital Banking Application can be used trustfully the percentage of queuing to draw cash will be reduced. When people deposit cash once again with trust restrictions would be lessened, said Win Thaw.

Win Thaw further said, ” There were 26 private banks in our country. The population of our country remained the same. The banks, the people and the economy remain as it was. These people could draw cash as usual. They could draw cash  as much as they wanted, and they could deposit as much as they wanted. There wouldn’t be more than four, five or six people at the ATMs. Due to that situation when those that wish to draw cash and those that queue up to thwart the trust of the banks combine  together we have a situation and it necessitates us to put forward certain restrictions. There are some who queue up holding 10 ATM cards. This goes to show that this person is not honest”.     

He also said that at the moment with the use of Mobile Finance Service Applications cash could be drawn if necessary from agents, and that the drawing of cash from banks associated with the agents was not restricted, and that the amount wished to be drawn was delivered.   

Further, he said  that there were some defects in banks, and that due to the dishonesty of some banks and staff blame was put on the Central Bank and State administrators.  He said that so far no action had been taken on the list of dishonest persons taking percentage on the amount drawn, and that there was need of understanding  and to work together. 

Published : May 17, 2021

By : Eleven Media/ANN

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Asean sees slight decline in new Covid-19 cases but death toll goes up

The number of Covid-19 cases crossed 3.68 million across Southeast Asia on Sunday, with 15,568 new cases reported, lower than Saturday’s 16,990.

However deaths rose to 329, compared with Saturday’s 299. Total Covid-19 deaths in Asean are now at 73,209.

Malaysia reported 3,780 new cases and 36 deaths, bringing cumulative cases in the country to 470,110 with 1,902 deaths. Malaysia’s public health ministry said that over 80 per cent of ICU rooms in the country were occupied by increasing number of severe patients.

Vietnam reported a high of 190 new patients, bringing cumulative cases to 4,175. Of these, 2,668 have been cured and discharged. The Vietnamese public health ministry is inspecting the northern provinces where infection rate is climbing in the industrial estate areas.

Published : May 17, 2021

By : THE NATION