Hanoi (VNA) -🦂 The Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) has donated 30 billion VND (1.3 million USD) to the COVID-19 vaccine fund in a bid to join hands with the nation to fight the pandemic as well as ensure social welfare and people’s wellbeing.

Following the directions of the Politburo and the Secretariat of the Communist Party of Vietnam on the policy of purchase of vaccines against COVID-19 for the people using the state budget and other legal financial sources, the Government issued a resolution on COVID-19 vaccine purchase and use. Per the resolution, 150 million doses of vaccines will be bought for the injection of about 75 million people. It is estimated to cost some 25.2 trillion VND (1.08 billion USD). Of the total, about 16 trillion VND is expected to come from the central budget, while the remaining 9.2 trillion VND will be sourced from the local budgets and contributions by businesses and organisations. In order to meet the urgent requirements of pandemic prevention and control, and speed up access to buying and importing vaccines for large-scale vaccination, the Ministry of Finance has asked for Government permission to set up a COVID-19 vaccine fund. The fund aims to receive funding from domestic and foreign organisations and individuals, as well as other legal capital sources for the purchase of vaccines against COVID-19. To join hands with such efforts and implement its corporate responsibility, PetroVietnam has decided to donate 30 billion VND (1.3 million USD) to the COVID-19 vaccine fund. Of the sum, 5 billion VND was from the mother company PetroVietnam, 10 billion VND from the PetroVietnam Gas Corporation (PV GAS), and 5 billion VND from each of the Vietsovpetro joint venture, Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical Company (BSR), and PetroVietnam Power Corporation (PV Power). In addition to the above-said units, PetroVietnam will continue to call on its other members to support the vaccine fund. On the occasion, the group also earmarked 2 billion VND which was raised from its staff to assist the northern provinces of Bac Giang and Bac Ninh, which are the nation’s current hotspots of COVID-19 outbreaks, in the fight against the pandemic. Its member units and trade union also donated hundreds of millions of VND and items to support front-line medical staff and localities in the effort. Earlier, to protect the health of 56,000 oil and gas workers amid the complicated developments of the pandemic, PetroVietnam’s trade union offered its members 2.8 billion VND to buy medical supplies and necessities for COVID-19 prevention and control. So far, staff of the oil and gas sector donated over 70 billion VND to the fight against the pandemic. The number of domestically-transmitted COVID-19 cases in Vietnam has risen to 4,621 cases, with 24 patients confirmed in the past 12 hours to 6am on May 27, according to the Ministry of Health. Of the new cases, 23 were recorded in Bac Giang province, and one in Lang Son. As many as 3,051 domestic cases have been logged since the nation was hit by the fourth COVID-19 wave on April 27. Another case was added to the imported infection tally on May 27 morning, raising the imported count of the outbreak to 1,490. Report from the ministry’s Medical Examination Administration showed that the country has seen 2,853 recoveries and 45 deaths related to the disease. Since the pandemic has become more complicated, people nationwide are advised to strictly follow the Ministry of Health’s 5K message: khau trang (facemask), khu khuan (disinfection), khoang cach (distance), khong tu tap (no gathering), and khai bao y te (health declaration)./.