B: We hope this Letter Box will find you in the best of health. Now the world is struggling against the coronavirus, Covid-19, all we want is good health for all people.

A: Take care of yourselves and others by following medical advices for the public to slower the spead of the coronavius.

B: WHO official website on Covid-19 recommends to regularly and thoroughly clean your hands with an alcohol-based hand rub or wash them with soap and water.Maintain at least 1 metre or 3 feet distance between yourself and anyone who is coughing or sneezing.Avoid touching eyes, nose, and mouth. Make sure you, and the people around you, follow good respiratory hygiene, which meanscovering your mouth and nose with your bent elbow or tissue when you cough or sneeze.

Vietnamese people wear face mask in summer to prevent direct sunlight on their face.

A: In Asian countries, including Vietnam, the Health Ministry advises people to wear face mask to prevent spreading the virus or being infected.

A: As from March 16, the Vietnamese government requires all Vietnamese and foreign citizens in Vietnam to wear face masks in public places where there are many people, such as supermarkets, airports, bus terminals or public transport. All passengers on domestic and international flights to and from Vietnam must wear face masks during the entire duration of their flights and when entering airports.

B: It reminds me of the recent attacks on East Asians wearing face masks in the United States and Britain. Indeed, the face mask has long been a staple in Asia years before the coronavirus pandemic.

Japanese pedestrians wear face masks.

A: It’s important to understand the many reasons why East Asians have increasingly been wearing face masks.There are some good reasons not to stigmatize face mask wearing as a culturally “Asian” practice.

A: Whether in time of pandemic or not, wearing a face mask during cold and flu season and pollen allergy season makes sense, especially in densely populated areas, regardless of continent.Mask-wearing has gone from seasonal affectation to year-round habit.  Now pollution is everywhere, as is airborne illness.

Vietnamese and foreign citizens coming to and from Vietnam must wear face masks during the entire duration of their flights and when entering airports.

B: For me wearing a face mask is to avoid sunlight exposure and air pollution. In Vietnam, we mostly travel by motorbikes under direct sunlight and in the heat of up to 40 Degree Celsius. Wearing face mask has become a daily habit. Now when the coronavirus is spreading around the globe, I think mask, disinfectant, and social distancing are good practice wherever you are on the planet.

A: Now we continue to read letters from other listeners. Here I have a letter from Tore Gunnarsson of Sweden. He said he lives in a small village named Rydobruk on the west coast of Sweden about 45 km northeast of the city Halmstad. He is a 70-year-old retired construction worker, married with a Thai woman. They have a 25-year-old daughter.

B: Tore has been listening to DX-ing since 1965. He is a member of the Swedish DX Federation. He’s also interest in fishing, philately, music, and gardening.

A: He received VOV signal on March 1 on the frequency of 7280khz. He said the signal strength was good with only little atmospheric noise and very little fading. SINPO rating was on an average 45444.

B: Thank you very much Tore for sending a detailed reception report. We’ll send a card to verify it.

A: I’m reading a letter from Tore De Chirico of Illinois, USA. He received VOV’s broadcast on 7315 khz transmitting from Cypress Creek, South Carolina. The signal was good with little noise and static with SINPO rating at 44333.

B: Thank you very much for sending us reception report. We surely will send a QSL to confirm your report. We hope to receive more feedback from you.

A: Tore said he was interested in the news about rice and rice farming in Vietnam. Vietnam is enjoying strong growth in both rice export volume and value. More export chances are still ahead as some free trade agreements (FTAs) have come into force and consumers around the globe are boosting purchase to ensure food security amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

Vietnamese rice ST25 was selected "The best Vietnamese rice in the world".

A:In the first two months of the year, Vietnam exported about 900,000 tonnes of rice worth 410 million USD, up 27 percent in volume and 32 percent in value year on year. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said export prices averaged 480USD per ton in January, rising 7 percent from the same period last year.

B: The Ministry noted that rice prices are usually adjusted on the quarterly or yearly basis. But they have been changed week by week in the first months of this year, which is a very rare situation.

A: It explained that as countries opened their markets for rice imports early, businesses have inked big contracts. Besides, China, which previously dominated the African market with about 3 million tons of rice annually, has been affected by the Covid-19 outbreak, creating a chance for Vietnamese rice in this market.

B: Strong demand from the Philippines and Malaysia has also helped raise prices of Vietnamese rice,narrow the price gap with the Thai products, and surpass the Myanmar and Indian rivals.

Rice field in the Mekong Delta region

A: The Mekong Delta, Vietnam’s largest agricultural production hub, is currently in the harvest period of the winter-spring crop.These positive signs show Vietnam is likely to achieve the rice export target of 6.7 million tons worth over 3 billion USD this year.

B: Eti Mone of Bangladesh listened to VOV on March 13^th. The signal was good, he said. In the “Village Life” segment, he knew about Vietnam’s Ta Oi ethnic  minority preserving their traditional weaving craft.

A: Eti wants to know: “How many Post Offices in Vietnam?” Every city and province of Vietnam has one central post office and many minor post offices.

B:Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group, commonly abbreviated as VNPT, is a telecommunication company and the national post office of Vietnam. Vietnam Post under the VNPT runs a system of 13,000 service points, average service radius of about 3 km/point to ensure that each village has at least one service point, serving the average population of  7,100 persons/point. 

A: EMS is an express service provided by Vietnam Post Express. It reaches all provinces and cities throughout Vietnam.655 delivery post offices are established at provinces, districts to manage delivery routes of local transaction post offices.

B: Postal services reaching small villages in the whole country to provide post and delivery services, postal financial services such as postal savings, money transfer, and payment services, agent services such as life insurance, non-life insurance, electronic ticket agent and other agent services.

B: There are 5 international post offices to handle international inbound and outbound postal itemsin Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh city, Da Nang city, and Lang Sonprovince.  International mail route network by air, waterway, road to exchange with 200 countries and territories.

A: Thank you all for your reports and feedback. We’ll send you QSL cards to confirm. We welcome your feedback at: English Service, VOVworld, the Voice of Vietnam, 45 Ba Trieu street, Hanoi, Vietnam. Or you can email us at englishsection@vov.vn. You’re invited to visit us online at vovworld.vn, where you can hear both live and recorded programs.

B: Check out our VOV Media App, available on both the IOS and Android platform to hear our live broadcasts. We look forward to your feedback on the mobile version of vovworld.vn. Once again, thank you all for listening.