WSJ: Achievements in COVID-19 fight enhance Vietnam’s prestige

05:18 02/05/2020 - Common Sense Medicine

Vietnam has taken drastic measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and these have helped enhance the country’s prestige in the international arena, according to an article in the Wall Street Journal.

"The country of more than 95 million people has less than 300 cases and no deaths," it underlined.

The daily quoted Julien Brun, Managing Partner at multinational consulting firm CEL in Ho Chi Minh City, as saying that Vietnam has been a leading choice of global manufacturers diversifying operations outside of China.

Even though garment and textile firms in Vietnam are grappling with an array of order cancellations due to the pandemic, in the long run production in other fields could be shifted to Vietnam, the article said.

Quarantining has had an important role to play in containing the spread of the outbreak in Vietnam.

“Tens of thousands of people were quarantined in State-run facilities and entire villages were locked down in response to even small clusters of infection,” the article stated.

Nearly 45,000 people were sent to concentrated quarantine areas in early April and this figure has now fallen to 11,000.

“Three months after its first case was detected, Vietnam appears to have beaten back the virus, at least for now,” it continued.

Stores and restaurants re-opened on April 23 as the Government eased social distancing measures after three weeks.

Some high-risk areas, however, remain under lockdown and gatherings of more than 20 people are prohibited in major cities, it noted./. VNA

02/05/2020