The UK newswire The Telegraph has recently published an article, hailing Vietnam’s success in controlling the recent second wave of the coronavirus.

Motorcyclists in protective masks sit in traffic in Hanoi, Vietnam (Photo: Bloomberg)

The article says unlike the first major outbreak that struck the country in March, the second outbreak in late July saw the government take a more local approach to avoid major economic damage.

Authorities imposed travel restrictions on Da Nang, a famous tourist destination in central Vietnam, after following the resurgence of the virus on July 25. All transport services to and from the city had been ceased, while non-essential services such as bars, karaoke salons and nightclubs had been banned.

Some similar measures had also been put in place in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and more than 10 other localities when the virus was detected.

Local administrations scrambled to carry out contact tracing and conduct massive COVID-19 tests to early detect and quarantine suspected cases.

These were the same tactics the Vietnamese government used earlier in the year when the virus first broke out, and they were extremely effective.

Another important aspect, according to the article, was mass communications, where the Department of Health sent routine text messages to all cell phone subscribers with health and safety advice and precautions. 

By the end of August, the Da Nang lockdown and aggressive testing and tracing elsewhere in the country had slowed the outbreak to a creep, and Vietnam has now passed more than three weeks with no detected community transmission ending that wave.

Domestic travel to and from the epicenter of the outbreak has resumed, and businesses in other major cities have resumed normal operations. 

The number of infections had increased more than a double, from 417 recorded during the first outbreak, to 1,069 by Sept. 25. But most of the patients have gone on to make a full recovery from the disease and only 40 active cases are receiving treatment at health facilities.

An air of confidence has returned to the streets. After successfully containing its first outbreak in March and April, Vietnam can now take pride in beating the coronavirus twice, the article concludes.