Japan’s Asahi newspaper on April 21 ran a story commending Vietnam’s drastic quarantine measures in the fight against COVID-19.

Illustrative image (Photo: VNA) 

The article said amid the spread of the pandemic across the world, Vietnam has contained the number of SARS-CoV-2 infections. Though it shares a 1,400km borderline with China where the epidemic broke out, its infection rate was very low with 268 patients and no deaths as of April 21 morning.

"Quarantine of individuals who have contact with a case or are coming from a high risk area is definitely a key strategy, especially since people infected seem to be infectious at the very start of symptoms", it said.

According to the article, Vietnam began its social distancing in early April. All citizens were not allowed to go out in unnecessary cases and banned gatherings of more than two persons in public places. All shops and service facilities were shut down, except essential services such as supermarkets and hospitals.

The order was originally scheduled to last till April 15, then extended to April 22 in many localities, including Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

In early March when arrivals in Vietnam from Europe surged, the Vietnamese Government ordered quarantine of all those coming in and those who had contact with patients at military-run facilities and universities. Even a building block or a village was locked down when infected persons were discovered, it added.