S D Pradhan, former chairman of India’s Joint Intelligence Committee, has hailed Vietnam’s successful containment of the recent second wave of the coronavirus, attributing the results to the country’s salience of aggressive testing and precautionary measures by citizens. 

Extensive testing is one of the best ways to early
detect and quarantine suspected cases.

Following is the full text of his story published on The Times of India.

Vietnam’s deft handling of the first wave of COVID-19 received kudos from everyone. Vietnam confirmed its first two cases on January 23 and had around 350 total cases of coronavirus nationwide by the end of June. By taking timely measures, it was able to contain the spread of pandemic and importantly there were no fatalities. This was indeed a significant achievement considering that it has common land border with China and the maritime boundaries of China and Vietnam are under dispute with the Chinese boats and ships very frequently encroaching into Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and territorial waters.

Vietnam had been a model country for its handling of the coronavirus. It took a number of initiatives early and understood accurately the nature of the challenge. Vietnam treated it as an enemy of human beings and declared a war against the Coronavirus and took all the precautionary measures to contain the spread. It closed borders, imposed lockdowns, set up quarantine facilities, and carried out rigorous contact tracing and testing through apps in the early phase of the outbreak.

Vietnam also kept track of second, third and fourth levels of contact to infected persons. It instituted rigorous quarantine policies. When China reported its first coronavirus death, Vietnam immediately implemented health checks at airports where all visitors had their body temperatures scanned. It suspended all flights between Vietnam and China in the early stage and later all international flights. Identifying the hot spot and taking necessary steps to isolate the region began early in Vietnam.

Like in other countries, Vietnam too witnessed the second wave of COVID-19. After 99 days of no infection, the COVID-19 resurfaced on July 25, 2020. This time the coastal city Da Nang, which is a tourist attraction, became the epicentre of the second wave. The virus spread very fast to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. By mid-September, 1059 persons were affected and this time the death toll was around 35. These numbers are insignificant as compared to the figures of other countries.

The timely measures undertaken this time too helped in containing the further spread of the disease. According to media reports, the first two coronavirus infections in Vietnam were a Chinese man and his son who had travelled from Wuhan, China – where the virus first emerged – to Hanoi. Some media reports indicated that it came through illegal immigrants from China who came through the China-Vietnam land border. Most reports indicate that this more virulent virus came from Wuhan. However, some researchers indicated the possibility of the virus remained undetected for months, potentially being asymptomatically transmitted in the community. Whatever caused the second wave, there was no doubt that this virus was more infectious and lethal.

Vietnam responded firmly at the outbreak of the second wave of virus and suspended all flights from mainland China, followed by all international flights not long after. Visas and visitors were also stopped to control the spread of the virus. The government of Vietnam made the drastic decision to evacuate 80,000 visitors from Da Nang. The city conducted large-scale sterilisation procedures to control the spread of COVID-19 and tightened movement controls. Full lockdown was imposed in the city. A 500-bed field hospital to receive coronavirus patients was also set up.

Like in the first wave of pandemic, an important dimension of Vietnam’s efforts was to seek cooperation from its citizens through effective public awareness programme. The social distancing norms were rigorously followed by citizens. Vietnam again encouraged the neighbourhood watch system. Vietnamese citizens were told to inform about their neighbours, if they suspected that someone was suffering from the disease. The Vietnamese Government’s instructions to the residents of Hanoi to self–isolate at home was rigorously implemented.

Common citizens and business community like in the first wave, extended all help to prevent the spread of the pandemic. They came up with innovative ways. In Da Nang, the authorities and citizens jointly prepared an ‘infection map’ to help locals avoid hotspots and to find the nearest medical facility. Robots have been designed by students in Ho Chi Minh City and military hospital to carry out the task of disinfecting hospitals and public places. Vietnam’s public awareness programme have been intensified. Citizens and authorities have also undertaken steps to alleviate the negative social and psychological impact of the pandemic.

Vietnam’s successful management of the COVID-19 outbreak so far has demonstrated that that preparedness to deal with the infectious diseases is the key ingredient for protecting people. The factors responsible for the success of Vietnam in keeping the disease under control include strategic testing, contact tracing through apps, effective public communication campaigns, involvement of citizens and taking care of all aspects of adverse impact of the pandemic on society. It can be concluded that Vietnam had built on its experience of dealing with SARS to draw a comprehensive plan to handle pandemic. The number disclosed about the fatalities and persons infected with the disease suggests that there was transparency in reporting.

One can learn from the example of Vietnam. The pandemic can only be defeated by aggressive testing at three levels, strict isolation of the patients and precautionary measures by citizens.

However, Vietnam still has to face a few daunting tasks. The war against COVID-19 is not yet over. Therefore, the efforts on war-footing have to continue. As it is sharing border with China, Laos and Cambodia, which is porous due to forest, a greater effort must be made to check illegal immigrants entering Vietnam and bring infectious virus.

When a vaccine becomes available, its distribution would demand advance preparation. Alongside, the need for developing ability to early detect or even predict pandemics can hardly be over-emphasised. The data collected so far should be utilised for this task. This requires international cooperation as well. The adverse economic impact of the pandemic needs to be addressed. It has adversely affected small and medium sized enterprises. Poor and vulnerable sections too are hard hit. Adequate social protection packages would need to be arranged for them. Tourism sector would need to be given push in the post-COVID-19 period. At the same time, it has to make Vietnam attractive for those companies which are desirous of shifting from China and Hong Kong. It is hoped that Vietnam with its extensive experience of dealing with pandemics, would be able to deal with all the above challenges successfully.