All over the world, countries are working to contain the human toll of the unprecedented health crisis brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Vietnam, 15th most populous country in the world, received acclaim for its response to the coronavirus outbreak.
As of April 2, Vietnam’s Ministry of Health confirmed a total of 222 cases of COVID-19. However, 64 of the affected patients have recovered and no single death is reported so far.
Vietnam is still considered as a communist country, but in fighting the epidemic, the government put the existence and life of the people first and foremost. In that spirit, the government has been remarkably transparent, briskly addressing the psychological crisis among the people.
Here’s how Vietnam dealing with the deadly virus:
* People entering Vietnam from abroad are tested for the virus. Those with symptoms are taken to hospital. And those without the symptoms are sent to quarantine camps for 14 days.
* The country has quarantined more than 45K people coming from virus-hit areas such as Europe and the USA.
* It has suspended all inbound foreign flights.
* The country also carries out aggressive contact tracing. People meeting infected persons are sent to isolation centers.
* Vietnam has limited resources, relative to other wealthier Asian countries such as Korea which has tackled coronavirus using mass testing.
* In 2003, Vietnam was the first country that SARS spread to from China. And its fast response now is based on lessons learnt then.