Read what is in the news today:

Politics

-- Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister To Anh Dung on Sunday handed US$500,000 worth of medical supplies over to Chinese Ambassador to Vietnam Xiong Bo to help the country fight the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) epidemic as previously promised.

Society

-- Ho Chi Minh City’s first-ever river bus line, which opened in November 2017 connecting downtown District 1 with the outlying district of Thu Duc along the Saigon River and Thanh Da Canal, remains fairly unpopular among residents after over two years of operation, averaging less than a dozen passengers on each trip despite its huge potential.

-- A Vietnamese Airlines flight carrying 48 Vietnamese nationals from China, including 30 citizens living and working in China, 15 crew members, and three health workers, landed at Van Don International Airport in the northern province of Quang Ninh at 4:15 am on Monday, according to the Vietnam News Agency.

-- Nearly 500 people remain in quarantine in Vietnam because of 2019-nCoV as of Monday morning, including 83 cases of suspected infection and 392 asymptomatic cases isolated due to having recent close contact with high-risk individuals.

Business

-- Vietnam will launch a national program to improve labor productivity, a critical factor for the middle-income country to enhance its competitiveness and development, according to a directive recently issued by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

Education

-- The Ministry of Health has requested that the Ministry of Education and Training direct schools to include lessons on 2019-nCoV in their curriculum when school resumes. All 63 provinces and cities in Vietnam have allowed students to take days off school until at least February 16 to prevent the possible spread of the virus.

Sports

-- The Vietnamese women’s football team have advanced to the play-off round of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics qualifiers after placing second in Group A of the third qualifying round, having defeated Myanmar 1-0 on Thursday and lost 0-3 to South Korea on Sunday.

World News

-- More than 40,500 people have been infected with 2019-nCoV and 910 killed globally as of Monday morning, according to the South China Morning Post.