Here are today’s leading news stories:

Society

-- Vietnam’s Ministry of Health recorded 42 local COVID-19 infections, including 40 in northern Hai Duong Province and two in Hanoi, on Monday evening and Tuesday morning, raising the country’s tally to 2,271, with 1,541 having recovered and 35 deaths.

-- Authorities in Hanoi decided to shut down all sidewalk eateries, cafés, and iced tea stalls from 0:00 on Tuesday in a bid to curb the COVID-19 pandemic.

-- Social distancing measures were reinstated in the entire northern province of Hai Duong from 0:00 on Tuesday to March 3 to contain the spread of COVID-19, according to the provincial steering committee for COVID-19 prevention and control.

-- A new cold spell started affecting northern Vietnam on Monday and is forecast to linger until February 24, resulting in rainfall and a drop in temperature, the National Center for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting reported.

-- A total of 154 traffic accidents occurred across Vietnam during the Lunar New Year holiday (February 10 to 15), killing 94 and injuring 98 others, according to the national committee for traffic safety.

-- Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on Monday ordered the healthcare sector to perform additional COVID-19 tests on all foreign experts who had arrived in the country and already completed their quarantine period.

-- Police in Thu Duc City confirmed on Monday they had arrested a 33-year-old man for murdering his older brother and another person while allegedly high on crystal meth.

-- Officers in the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang on Monday apprehended 41 people for gambling and confiscated VND180 million (US$7,820) and 87 motorbikes.

Business

-- Vietnam's exports increased seven percent last year against 2019 to $282.66 billion, according to statistics from the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO).

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