Read what is in the news today:

Society

-- Vietnam’s Ministry of Health on Wednesday evening declared the end of the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epidemic in the south-central province of Khanh Hoa after having recorded no new patient there for 39 days.

-- Minister of Labor, War Invalids, and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung has asked local businesses to stop sending Vietnamese workers to regions affected by the COVID-19. 

-- The Department of Information and Communications in the Mekong Delta province of Ca Mau has fined a local woman, Le Hong M., VND10 million (US$431) for spreading fake news on Facebook about eating boiled eggs to help avoid COVID-19 infection.

-- Hanoi’s Department of Health, in collaboration with the capital’s military high command, has proposed building two 600-bed makeshift hospitals that can accommodate up to 3,000 patients for COVID-19 treatment.

-- Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam has ordered continued quarantine and close monitoring of those entering Vietnam from regions hit by COVID-19.

Business

-- Seventeen out of 45 commercial banks in Vietnam has slashed fees for interbank transfers of small sums worth less than VND500,000 ($21.5) after the National Payment Corporation of Vietnam (NAPAS) also cut charges in a bid to promote cashless payment.

-- Cash payment accounts for 66 percent and 70 percent of purchases over mobile phones in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, respectively, according to the results of a market survey on consumer demand in Vietnam’s culinary industry conducted by Gojek, the parent company of the ride-hailing application Go-Viet, in collaboration with market research company Kantar.

Lifestyle

-- The seventh Japan – Vietnam Festival, which was originally scheduled for February 22-23, has been postponed until at least mid-2020 due to COVID-19 fears, according to Special Advisor to the Japan-Vietnam Friendship Parliamentary Alliance Tsutomu Takebe.

Sports

-- The Vietnam Grand Prix Corporation (VGPC), the promoter of the Formula 1 VinFast Vietnam Grand Prix 2020, announced the completion of the Hanoi Circuit - the first ever F1 track in Vietnam - on Wednesday.

World News

-- Over 81,350 people have been infected with the novel coronavirus and 2,772 killed globally as of Thursday morning, according to the South China Morning Post. The number of confirmed cases in South Korea has reached 1,216, with 12 deaths.

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