Here are today’s leading news stories:

Society

-- A group of five foreigners who boarded the same flight as N.H.N., a Hanoi woman who was Vietnam’s 17th confirmed case of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), had traveled to northern Cao Bang Province before heading to northern Bac Kan Province on Saturday, according to the Ministry of Health.

-- As of Saturday evening, Ho Chi Minh City authorities have quarantined another nine people who traveled on the same flight as N.H.N., Vietnam’s 17th COVID-19 patient.

-- Nineteen out of 21 reservoirs in the south-central province of Ninh Thuan have run out of water due to serious drought.

-- Five localities, namely Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Phong, Da Nang and Binh Thuan, will pilot the online collection of traffic fines via the national public service portal this month, said Minister and Chairman of the Government Office Mai Tien Dung.

-- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has asked the Vietnamese Embassies in Paris, Rome, and London to inform relevant agencies of the host countries of the movement history and temporary residence address in the UK of N.H.N., the Hanoi woman who tested positive for the COVID-19 after traveling to several European nations.

Business

-- Major supermarket chains in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have promised to ensure sufficient products in order to meet the surge in demand amid the COVID-19 epidemic.

-- The banking sector is building a credit support program worth VND285 trillion (US$12.2 billion) for firms hit by the COVID-19 epidemic, in an attempt to help ease their difficulties, according to an official of the State Bank of Vietnam.

Education

-- Authorities in Hanoi have decided to let all students stay home until the end of March 15 to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic.

World News

-- Over 105,000 people have been infected with the novel coronavirus and 3,576 killed globally as of Saturday morning, according to the Vietnamese Ministry of Health.

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