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Vietnam or the strategy to fight Covid

Eight months from the outset of the coronavirus and almost two months from a second wave, the statistics  in Vietnam now rank among the best in Asia and the world.

 

Alberto Salazar Gutiérrez

 

The World Health Organization (WHO), epidemiologists and specialized institutions all over the world have praised the Indochinese nation’s response to the pandemic.

Countries in Southeast Asia, and even more distant regions, have validated and applied their experience in this field.

With 1,068 positive cases of the novel coronavirus being reported so far in Vietnam, the infection rate is 11 people per million inhabitants. 947 out of the people infected have recovered, which is almost 89% of the total cases.

Since 2 September, when 22 Vietnamese nationals returning from other countries were reported sick, there have been no community transmissions for 20 consecutive days.

Also, the number of deaths caused by this lethal pandemic has been maintained at 35 for 19 days in a row, at a rate of 0.4 deaths per million inhabitants.

Significantly, all the deceased were elderly people who couldn’t be saved as they were already suffering from grave illnesses.

Out of the 86 active cases, 21 were discharged the following days as their second and third tests to detect SARS-CoV-2 came back negative. The rest were recovering very well and only two were still infected.

The repatriation of thousands of Vietnamese nationals and the return of diplomats, officials, businessmen and economic experts and advisers were handled with extreme care by the government and health authorities.

In airports, everyone was required to have certified health declarations and undergo medical check-ups to determine if they presented any of the symptoms associated with the virus.

If they did, with no exceptions, they would have had to comply with the two-week quarantine straight away. This system worked flawlessly. With almost 100 million cases reported, none of the Vietnamese returning home had infected other people.

The statistics in Vietnam, as of 25 July, were incomparably better than other countries, with only 417 cases, zero deaths and 99 days with no infections.

Steps were also taken in order for the economy to return to normal.

However, the number of cases soared on the same day, due to an outbreak in Da Nang that spread to other regions.

Lockdown was reinstated in Da Nang and in other big cities and provinces.

Medicines, dozens of specialists, medical staff and other technical and human resources were mobilized to the infected areas.

The second wave of the virus was contained in stages and the situation in Da Nang and all over the country was under control.

As a result, lockdown is now being eased in stages and economic and social activities are resuming, allowing Vietnam to enter into this “new normal” phase. (PL)

(Translated by Cristina Popa – Email: cristinapopa83@hotmail.co.uk) – Photos: Pixabay

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