Party General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong hailed the country’s initial success in combating the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) on March 20, but warned there remains no room for complacency amid the disease rapidly spreading globally.

The COVID-19 first broke out and on a large scale at the start of the year, causing plenty of challenges in Vietnam and other nations worldwide, according to the state leader at a Party’s Political Bureau meeting aimed at reviewing the country’s virus prevention and control work. 

Poliboru members review coronavirus prevention and control work 

Since the initial stages of the epidemic, the nation has been quick to respond by taking prompt and accurate steps to achieve good results whilst winning international acclaim, he went on to say.

He attributed these achievements with the active participation of the entire political system and the country’s people in the fight against the virus, singling out the major role and key decisions made by the National Steering Committee on COVID-19 Prevention and Control for praise.

Despite these positives, the Party leader warned against complacency with the epidemic spreading rapidly and with unpredictable complications.

According to him, the nation should learn from past experience and every effort should be made to contain the COVID-19 as soon as an outbreak is discovered in order to stop the spread of the virus hitting the wider community.

The state leader went on to call for specific assessment reports and detailed response plans to be put into place in a timely manner, in addition to the necessity of planning for the worst possible scenario.

He also noted that the country should continue to support and share its experience in epidemic prevention and control with other nations globally, showing Vietnam’s capability of being a responsibility member of the international community.