Vietnam Morning Monitor: Ho Chi Minh City reports 5th meningococcal case, 27 students hospitalized after bee attack

| POLITICS

-- Vietnam’s Party General Secretary and State President To Lam, his spouse Ngo Phuong Ly, and a high-level Vietnamese delegation arrived in Brussels on Wednesday for official visits to the European Union and Belgium, marking a new chapter in relations following the recent upgrade of Vietnam-EU ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership.

| SOCIETY

-- Twenty-seven students were hospitalized after a swarm of bees attacked them at Hai Lang Middle School in Hai Lang Commune, Quang Tri Province, north-central Vietnam on Wednesday. A group of sixth-grade students arrived at school early in the afternoon and reportedly began to throw stones at a honeybee hive, disturbing the colony, after noticing it in a tree on campus.

-- Two high school students died after a homemade ferry carrying a group of eight students capsized while they were crossing a canal in Can Tho City, southern Vietnam on Tuesday. The students were visiting a classmate’s home to prepare gifts for a Vietnamese Women’s Day (October 20) event when the tragedy unfolded, local authorities said on Wednesday.

-- A sinkhole nearly two meters wide reappeared on National Highway 3B in Thai Nguyen Province, northern Vietnam on Wednesday, just meters away from a notorious sinkhole that swallowed a person in 2025, prompting authorities to cordon off the area and launch further geological investigations, a local official said on Wednesday.

| HO CHI MINH CITY

-- Ho Chi Minh City on Wednesday evening confirmed its fifth meningococcal case within a week after a 12-year-old student tested positive for meningococcus group B. 

Health authorities have identified 99 close contacts and provided them with preventive antibiotic treatment to contain potential transmission. 

The latest patient is living in Thuong Tan Commune and studying at Ngo Thoi Nhiem Elementary-Middle-High School in Binh Duong Ward. 

Officials described the case as an isolated infection that was promptly detected and contained. 

The latest case brings the city’s total number of meningococcal infections reported between October 14 and October 20 to five. All patients are students, and one child has died.

-- The municipal Department of Tourism and Airports Corporation of Vietnam on Wednesday signed a cooperation agreement for 2026-30 aimed at expanding air connectivity, promoting tourism, and improving visitor experiences. 

Under the agreement, both sides will increase information sharing on market trends, policies, and route development plans. 

They will also coordinate with airlines to maintain existing routes while promoting new connections to the city and partner destinations. 

Particular attention will be given to links through Tan Son Nhat International Airport and the future Long Thanh International Airport.

-- Ho Chi Minh City has officially transferred a 1.3-hectare property in Phu Loi Ward to Thu Dau Mot University, expanding the public institution’s campus and supporting the city’s strategy of repurposing former government facilities for education, science, and public services. 

The newly acquired property sits directly adjacent to the school’s existing campus, making future expansion particularly convenient. 

University facilities on both sites can be connected simply by removing the current boundary wall.

| TRAVEL

-- Gia Lai Province in Vietnam’s Central Highlands welcomed an estimated 13.5 million visitors in the first nine months of 2026, up 25 percent against the same period last year, with tourism revenue exceeding VND29.2 trillion (US$1.1 billion), the provincial administration announced on Wednesday.

Ho Chi Minh City by night