A 48-year-old medical worker of Vietnamese descent in Montreal, Canada has died after contracting COVID-19, vietnamplus.vn reported on Monday.

Thông Nguyễn, who worked at Jean-Talon Hospital for 17 years, tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 on May 1 and self quarantined at home.

Due to serious effects caused by the virus, he was moved to the intensive care unit of CHUM, one of two key health care networks in Montreal, and passed away there.

In the middle of April, Vietnamese-Canadian Đào Huy Hào, a professor at University of Sherbrooke's community health department, reportedly died of COVID-19, becoming the first doctor in Quebec to die in the pandemic.

He worked for the National Institute of Public Health in Quebec in 2016 and 2017. The institute is the leading unit in the fight against SARS-CoV-2 in Quebec.

As of June 14 (local time), Canada recorded more than 98,700 COVID-19 cases with more than 8,100 deaths.

Vietnam sees no locally-infected cases of COVID-19 for 60 days

No new COVID-19 infections were recorded in Vietnam overnight, from 6pm of June 14 to 6am of June 15, marking the 60th straight day without community transmission, said the national steering committee for COVID-19 prevention and control.

So far, 334 infections have been reported in the country, including 194 imported cases which were quarantined upon their arrival.

As many as 323 patients, or 96.7 percent of the total, have recovered from the disease, and there are no deaths.

Among the remaining 11 still under treatment, one has tested negative for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, once and three at least twice.

The treatment sub-committee also reported that Patient 91, a British pilot and also the most severe case, continued to show improvement, but he still needs many more weeks to recover.

At present, 8,792 people are being kept in quarantine, including 96 in hospitals, 7,778 in other quarantine facilities and 918 at home.

Citizens show interest in post-COVID-19 social security policies

Constituents in Hanoi and central Thua Thien-Hue province expressed their attention to post-COVID-19 social security policies after listening to opinions from legislators and Government members during a plenary discussion broadcast live on TV on June 13.

This debate was part of the ongoing ninth session of the 14th National Assembly in Hanoi.

Nguyen Huu Can, a 70-year-old retiree in Thuy Xuan ward of Thua Thien-Hue’s Hue city, said people nationwide are putting great trust in the Party and State’s leadership, especially the proactive and drastic response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

However, he noted, as the pandemic has caused numerous difficulties to socio-economic aspects, the Government needs to speed up public investment disbursement, especially for major and key projects, practice thrift, prevent wastefulness, and carry out timely policies on reducing taxes, extending tax payment deadlines, and supplying soft loans for businesses to help them resume operations.

Local authorities and all-level committees of the Vietnam Fatherland Front should keep a close watch on the provision of financial aid for people affected by the pandemic to prevent wrongdoings, Can said.

Meanwhile, Nguyen Duc Thuan, a resident in Vinh Ninh ward of Hue city, recommended the Government direct ministries and sectors to enhance monitoring and controlling prices of several essential goods such as pork and some other foodstuffs.

He also pointed out the need for the Government, ministries, sectors and localities to prioritise restoring production activities and creating jobs as the coronavirus pandemic has made many people unemployed while prices of some essential commodities have surged.

Commenting on recent moves by the Government, Pham Van Luong, a constituent in Bac Tu Liem district of Hanoi, said the solutions carried out to support people and businesses in the face of COVID-19 are comprehensive and drastic, concurrently fighting against the disease and sustaining growth.

They have boosted people’s confidence in a bright future, he added.

Also valuing the Government’s measures, Do Toan, a resident in the Linh Dam urban area of Hanoi, voiced his hope that the Cabinet will implement as strong and effective solutions as in the COVID-19 combat so as to soon stabilise and boost socio-economic development.

Echoing the view, Quoc Huy, a voter in Hoang Liet ward of the capital’s Hoang Mai district, said he hopes the Government will base on recommendations suggested by lawmakers at the June 13 sitting to implement suitable development solutions in the new context.

No new COVID-19 case on June 14

Vietnam reported no new case of COVID-19 during the day on June 14, marking 59 straight days without any community infection, according to the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control.

The tally remains at 334, with 194 imported cases which were immediately quarantined after arrival. The number of patients given the all clear was 323, or 96.7 percent, with no fatalities so far.

More than 10,270 people are still under quarantined across the country, and 11 confirmed cases are receiving treatment. Among them, one has tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 once, ant three others negative at least twice.

COVID-19: More than 800 domestic helpers receive financial support

The aid package of over 1.6 billion VND (68,621 USD) is provided on June 12 to assist domestic helpers (Photo: jupviec.vn)

More than 800 women engaged by JupViec.vn - a firm providing domestic help services in Hanoi and HCM City - will benefit from an aid package of over 1.6 billion VND (68,621 USD) provided on June 12 to help them overcome difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The move comes via a cooperative effort between leading global payments and tech company Mastercard and CARE International in Vietnam.

Depending on their circumstances, each woman will receive a maximum of 3 million VND.

CARE International in Vietnam has carried out over 300 projects since 1989. Its long-term goal is supporting Vietnamese ethnic minority women in remote areas as well as vulnerable groups in urban areas.

China ready to join ASEAN to develop COVID-19 vaccine: Ambassador

China is ready to collaborate with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the research and development of vaccines against the COVID-19, Chinese Ambassador to ASEAN Deng Xi Jun said last week.

As reported by Xinhua, at a virtual press conference, the diplomat said the two sides have had a number of anti-pandemic cooperation since the outbreak of the pandemic in the region, pushing for regional consensus on a stronger collective response and, in the meantime, strengthening trade ties between the two sides.

There is great potential of cooperation between the bloc and China in the research, development and production of COVID-19 vaccine and China looks forward to cooperation in the area, he noted.

Founded in 1967, ASEAN comprises 10 countries of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

EU assists Cambodia in post-COVID-19 economic recovery

The European Union (EU), its member states and their financial institutions and agencies are mobilising 443 million EUR (503 million USD) in grants and loans to work with Cambodia in fighting COVID-19 and mitigating its socio-economic impacts.

The Phnom Penh Post cited the EU’s press release as announcing that the bloc will work with Cambodia to support economic recovery and job creation. That includes strengthening key areas of the economy, public investment for economic development, energy efficiency and green recovery.

The announcement came as Minister of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation Vong Soth recently urged ASEAN ministers to immediately implement social protection programmes to help the poor and vulnerable in the ASEAN region amid the pandemic.

He said the Cambodian Government is committed to implementing existing social protection programmes in June like providing cash to poor families to ease the pressure on the vulnerable and poor during the pandemic.

He continued that the Government is paying more attention to children under the age of 15, people with disabilities, the elderly, and AIDS patients.

Earlier this month, the Cambodian Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training said about 110,000 workers of 344 factories and firms in the country have received unemployment benefits from an aid package of 2.4 million USD.

The ravaging COVID-19 pandemic has dealt a heavy blow to hundreds of thousands of workers in the garment and service sectors, especially tourism and hospitality, which use 620,000 workhands.

According to the World Bank, the coronavirus outbreak is putting at least 1.76 million jobs in Cambodia at risk, driving the country’s unemployment rate to nearly 20 percent.

Thailand: Night curfew to be lifted from June 15

The Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) approved ending the night curfew from June 15, according to local media.

The centre made the decision at its meeting on June 12. The meeting was presided over by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.

The 11pm-to-3am curfew will be lifted from June 15 but the state of emergency in the country will continue, The Nation newspaper reported.

The centre decided to strictly control travel in and out of Thailand, as most of the COVID-19 patients in recent days were returnees from foreign countries,

The CCSA also said that some high-risk activities, such as the use of school buildings or some sports, will be relaxed in the fourth phase of the lockdown relaxation. Sale of alcoholic beverages will be allowed, as well as the holding of concerts. However, bars and pubs will remain closed in this next phase.

On June 10, the National Security Council had proposed the lifting of the nationwide night curfew for a 15-day trial period while maintaining the state of emergency.