Vietnamese government response to the COVID-19 pandemic
In 2021, a vaccination programme began, whilst outbreaks in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi prompted the government to introduce further lockdowns, which were ultimately lifted due to their economic and social impacts, and continued spread of the Delta variant.The human rights implications of some interventions attracted controversy, whilst the Việt Á scandal related to COVID-19 testing led to several senior officials resigning, being removed from office, or facing prosecution for corruption.According to Kidong Park, World Health Organization representative to Vietnam, the first risk assessment exercise was conducted by the Vietnamese in early January – soon after cases in China started being reported.Shortly afterward, the Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc ramped up Vietnam's response by issuing an urgent document to ministries, provinces, and broadcasting agencies addressing the dangerousness of the virus and the need for measures to prevent local transmission.The committee, led by Deputy Prime Minister Vũ Đức Đam with representation from 14 ministries and sectors, the National Assembly, media, and information technology companies will command and control the country COVID-19 response.[16] In February 2020, Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training suspended all school activities across the country until the end of March as part of quarantine measures against the spreading of the virus, and later extended this till the middle of April until further notice.Thanks to this effective coordination, public health measures such as aggressive contact tracing, mandatory quarantine, and sterilization of surfaces were taken immediately, which enabled the government to stop community transmission and lift the large-scale lockdown still common in many Southeast Asian nations at that time.[21] Imported cases from Europe motivated the government to intensify its border control measures, reducing international flights, suspending visa waiver for certain European countries.Aircraft, ships and vehicles transporting cargo are not affected by this regulation.On 12 August, Da Nang has decided to continue social distancing for another two weeks when the number of cases in the community still shows no signs of stopping.Must be determined that from now on there will be no time of peace, but the readiness for an outbreak.From 9 February to 1 March 2021, facing an increase in cases, Ho Chi Minh City closed down spas, wedding halls, cinemas, clubs and other entertainment venues.According to government figures, roughly 1.3 million workers returned to their hometowns between July and September, then hundreds of thousands more followed once restrictions were eased in October.For example, in Ho Chi Minh City, COVID-19 outbreak has triggered a growing demand for a large amount of personal health declaration, but testing registration process in here still rely on verbal communication between local authorities and citizens without any online services.Thong Tin Chinh Phu (Governmental Information), the government's official Facebook page, provides nearly hourly updates on the country's pandemic situation.[62] Their efforts usually focus on the nationalism, successful measures by the government to control the pandemic, the steady improvement of the situation across the country and the advantages of the one-party political system in dealing with crisis.While drug companies in the US and the UK are firmly attached to their patents and restrict production overseas, Hanoi would offer countries a cheap, reliable and politically neutral vaccine alternative.[74] In both 2020 and the first 6 months of 2021, the state budget has spent 168,8 trillion VND ($7.34 billion USD) to supported businesses and people impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak and for disease prevention and control.Vietnam strictly forbids cyberattack behavior targeting organizations and individuals in any form", Foreign Affairs Ministry deputy spokesman Ngo Toan Thang said at an online press meet.[92] Vietnam responded to the pandemic "early and proactively", as complimented by World Health Organization representative Kidong Park, with risk assessment conducted just after first reported cases in China in January.[96] As willingness to embrace social distancing was credited with helping mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in Vietnam, examinations of the underlying motivation should acknowledge nationalism and solidarity as important but not sole determinants of effectiveness.[3][98][99][100] According to Professor Guy Thwaites, the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit in Ho Chi Minh City had conducted 20,000 separate tests, of which the results matched those publicized by the government.[100] An investigation by Reuters correspondents in April on 13 funeral organizers in Hanoi found no abnormal upsurge in the number of deaths, if not even a slight decrease due to reduction of traffic accidents during the lockdown.[99] Huong Le Thu, analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, cites reports of deaths during the second wave as a further demonstration that the zero fatality rate in the previous phase "should have not been questioned in the first place".[102]The fourth wave of infections came amidst the increasing prevalence of the Delta variant, coupled with low vaccination rates, and waning public opinion of Vietnam's performance in pandemic prevention.Pham Minh Duc, a senior research officer at the Burnet Institute said: "The current outbreak has crippled [Vietnam's] preventive healthcare system and placed the country's health care under extreme stress.After the initial success in suppressing the pandemic in 2020, the authorities displayed complacency and failed to take the opportunity to purchase vaccine doses and implement an immunization program while the number of cases were still low.For example, in Bắc Giang Province, a woman tested positive for COVID-19, and the authorities decided to take her to the hospital for treatment while leaving her 3-day-old child alone in an isolation camp.[117] Such situations also risk dissuading persons who may be infected from seeking medical treatment or declaring themselves to health authorities in order to avoid stigma, which in turn would hinder efforts to contain the pandemic.[120][121] The Ministry of Public Security announced that up to 800 billion VND (34.5 million USD) in bribes were paid by Viet A, according to the company director Phan Quốc Việt.[122] Several high-ranking officials connected to the scandal were also expelled from their posts and from the Communist Party of Vietnam, including Minister of Health Nguyễn Thanh Long and Hanoi mayor Chu Ngọc Anh.According to a survey by Singapore's Yusof Ishak Institute, the level of trust in the Vietnamese government dropped to 83% in 2021, down 14% compared to 2020, although this rate is still higher than other countries in the region.
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