Viet Nam is on right track in managing current COVID-19 outbreak but it requires "persistent and collective efforts" following the whole-of-society approach.  

Dr Kidong Park, WHO Representative in Viet Nam made the above statement in a recent interview with the Viet Nam Government Portal.

It is not only the role of the Government and the health system to control this outbreak, it is everybody’s responsibility to ensure Viet Nam once again wins over the virus, Park said.

“The Government of Viet Nam and people’s committee at each locality are already taking necessary measures to avoid the situation where health facilities are overloaded”, he acknowledged. 

These measures, including imposition of new and tighter movement restrictions and management of COVID-19 cases with mild or no symptoms at home, will help slow down the spread of the virus, prevent the health system from being overburdened, and protect our health workers and responders who have been working non-stop. 

These measures will also enable Viet Nam to better take care of the sick, and save lives of those who are in critical condition but they will only be successful if people will cooperate and do their share in complying with the measures, Park stressed.

In Viet Nam, in addition to the circulation of the variants of concern, such as the Delta and Alpha variants, there are other factors that contribute to the difficulties in fighting the current outbreak in the country.

But regardless of the variant, the same protective measures work. People need to continue to apply 5K – wear masks consistently, be in ventilated spaces, practice hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette and avoid crowding. These measures still continue to be extremely important.

For all of the variants of concern, including the Delta variant, the vaccines remain effective against severe disease and death. 

As of 8:00 pm on July 27, Viet Nam reported 114,260 infections, of which 110,487  are locally-transmitted cases.

Globally, the cumulative number of cases reported reached 192 million and the number of deaths exceeded 4 million as of 23 July. The Delta variant has now been reported in 124 countries in the world, including Viet Nam.

Many countries are facing new surges of cases, including our close neighbors in Southeast Asia.

According to Park, these increases appear to be driven by four factors: (i) the circulation of more transmissible variants of concern, (ii) relaxation of public health and social measures, (iii) increases in social mixing, and (iv) the grossly inequitable vaccine distribution around the world.