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Politics

— Thousands of bottles of medicine from Cuba to help Vietnam respond to the local novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreaks were handed over at a ceremony in Hanoi on Wednesday. Cuba has also sent experts to Da Nang, the current outbreak epicenter in central Vietnam, to support the fight.

Society

— Vietnam on Thursday morning reported four new cases of COVID-19 including a bus operator in Hanoi and three people in the central province of Quang Nam, all traced to Da Nang. The country’s tally has reached 717 with 328 under treatment, 381 recoveries, and eight deaths.

— A ‘face mask ATM’ will be launched in Tan Phu District in Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday to provide free masks to help people cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. The machine is an initiative of local Hoang Tuan Anh, who earlier launched the widely praised ‘rice ATM’ in the city for people affected by the pandemic.

— The COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam will likely peak in ten days, Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Truong Son warned on Wednesday, reminding that people should take precautions and strictly follow recommendations for COVID-19 prevention.

— As of Wednesday, there were 371 foreign experts and investors quarantined at hotels in Ho Chi Minh City with the 14-day mandatory quarantine setting them back around VND13.5 million (US$584) per person on average.

— Within five days from August 1, traffic police across Vietnam patrolled and detected drivers of ten truck, 47 cars, over 1,300 motorbikes and six motorized bicycles with violations related to driving under the influence.

— Border guards in the north-central province of Quang Tri on Wednesday said it recently collaborated with Laos authorities to successfully break up a huge drug ring at the Vietnam-Laos border, seizing up to 479,000 tablets of synthetic drugs.

Business

— Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Quoc Doanh on Wednesday worked with Commercial Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in Vietnam Hu Suo Jin to boost exports of farm produce, especially longan, to China, the Vietnam News Agency reported.

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