Vietnam’s low-cost COVID-19 battle shows the world what can be done

Daily, a staggering quarter of a million people use the public bus network in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam’s largest metropolis. This week, just a month after services were suspended, the distinctive green vehicles are back on the roads. That’s good news for the millions of children heading back to school for the first time in three months.

Bus passengers and school children are just two of the beneficiaries of Vietnam’s remarkable success in suppressing COVID-19.

As of 11 May, the country has reported zero deaths, just 288 positive COVID-19 cases and no community transmission since early April.

It’s all the more remarkable when you consider the country shares a border with China, is home to nearly 100 million people, and has a greater population density than China, Indonesia, the United Kingdom or Italy.

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Misha Coleman, Margaret Sheehan