COVID-19: Vietnam Winning New War Against Invisible Enemy
Vietnam, just south of coastal China, is the 15th most populous country in the world with 97 million people. According to its Ministry of Health (MoH), as of April 13, there were 262 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 144 recovering or discharged from hospitals, and no deaths.
With officials acting quickly to trace and test contacts, as well as quarantine and treat the infected, Vietnam contained the first wave of infections in January. Following a second wave of 41 new cases, Vietnam imposed a national isolation order on March 31. The country has already conducted more than 121,000 tests, with more than 75,000 people in quarantine or isolation.
After more than a dozen people, linked to Bach Mai Hospital in Hanoi, tested positive, authorities have been tracing contacts, advised more than 10,000 people who were at the hospital since March 12 to get tested, and locked down a nearby rural hamlet for 14 days.
Anis Chowdhury in Sydney and Jomo Kwame Sundaram in Kuala Lumpur
