Tran, Thi Phuong Thao, et al. Rapid Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic: Vietnam Government's Experience and Preliminary Success. 30 July 2020, https://www.jogh.org/documents/issue202002/jogh-10-020502.htm.

Michigan State University

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Broke the initial three-month period of the pandemic into three stages:
-Stage I
-Stage II
-Stage III

Vietnam's Government Response to the Covid-19 Pandemic

- The first stage is broken down from when the first case was detected on January 23, 2020, to February 25, 2020.
- The number of cases in Vietnam slowly increased and was at 16 on February 25.
- Majority of these cases were from people who recorded traveling to China.
- On January 23, 2020, all flights to Wuhan were suspended by the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam and on January 29 all flights were suspended from Vietnam to areas in China affected by the pandemic and from those areas to Vietnam.
- On January 30, visa issuance was suspended to Chinese tourists and entry was refused to all foreign visitors who had traveled to mainland China within fourteen days of their intended arrival in Vietnam. 
- The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam suspended all flights to mainland China on February 2, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan implemented a fourteen-day quarantine for Vietnamese citizens who returned from travels to China, and the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi closed all pre-school, elementary, and high schools, along with all other education institutions.
- On February 3, all peoples who had been in China during the prior fourteen-days were ordered to quarantine by the Prime Minister and he signed the Official Dispatch Number 156/CD-TTg, which strengthened the control of the outbreak through implementing restrictions on large gatherings and festivals. 
- Also on February 3, the Prime Minister provided guidance for the students doing school from home through the Ministry of Education and Training.
- By February 8, all 63 provinces/cities that extended the closure of schools extended the closure again in their areas until April 22.
- February 12, in order to open congestion and trade, Vietnam and China agreed to reopen certain border crossings in Quang Ninh, Lai Chau, Lao Cai, Lang Son, and Ha Giang and to leave several other border crossings closed.

Stage I of Vietnam's Response

- Lasted from February 26, 2020, to April 15, 2020. 
- New cases came from citizens who traveled to South Korea and Europe and the later stage cases came from transmission throughout the community(which led the government to place the strictest restrictions, including a fifteen-day national social distancing)
- The number of confirmed cases at the end of Stage II rose to 268
- On February 25, the Vietnam government implemented entry bans on peoples who had traveled from South Korea and other infected areas.
- February 29 the Visa Waiver Program for South Korean nationals was suspended and it was mandatory for all travelers coming to Vietnam from South Korea to self-isolate for fourteen days
- In March, robots to help assist quarantined citizens were created by Hue Hospital.
- On March 1, airports in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh refrained from receiving any flights from South Korea and instead rerouted landings to Van Don and Can Tho airports and before even entering Vietnam, these passengers had to quarantine for fourteen-days and undergo mandatory health checks. If passengers showed signs of Covid-19 symptoms such as a fever, shortness of breath, or a cough, they were brought to health facilities for treatments, quarantine, and samples for testing.
- On March 5, all flights to South Korea from Vietnam and back were cancelled by Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet Air, the Agency of Health Examination and Treatment created an online system to diagnose and treat Covid-19, and the virus detection test kit was produced. 
- Due to border closures, on March 18 flights between Vietnam and Malaysia were cancelled through the end of March and flights between Vietnam and France were cancelled indefinitely.
- March 19 Vietnam Airlines cancelled all international flights.
- On March 21, a mandatory quarantine for passengers from all flights from all countries entering Vietnam was required by Vietnam.
- March 24 all non-essential services(beauty services, massage parlors, bars, etcs.) were closed immediately by the People's Committee of HCM city in twenty-four districts and rice exportation was stopped for national food security.
- March 27 all public transport activities were stopped by 80% in Hanoi and all bus operations were stopped through April 22. 
- On March 30, 200,000 rapid Covid-19 tests were imported from South Korea and were prioritized for those quarantined at home in high risk areas.
- On April 1, the Directive Number 16/CT-TTg was signed by the Vietnam government which issued social distancing guidelines where people were only allowed to leave their residences for medicine and for food and where gatherings with more than two people were banned. Additionally, businesses that were not essential to producing and providing essential goods were closed. 
- From April 1 to April 15, the borders between Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos were closed. 
- In this stage, the primary objective was to "flatten the curve"

Stage II of Vietnam's Response

-Started on April 16, 2020
-Two new cases were reported in Stage III
-All localities were divided into "high-risk," "at-risk," and "low-risk" divisions with relations to implemented social distancing guidelines in those divisions on April 16, with said social distancing guidelines extended until April 22 for the "high-risk" and "at-risk" zones, in cities such as Hanoi, HCM City, etc. 
-Also on April 16, the Minister of Transport prohibited inter-provincial passenger transportation until April 22, but flights were allowed to resume
-On April 18, an online-based medical treatment system was created to aide hospitals remotely in counseling, imaging diagnosis, pathology, and consultation
-Also on April 18, the Ministry of Information and Communications launched a "Bluezone" website to help people determine if they came in close contact with COVID-19 and put infographics on public transportations about preventive measures of Covid-19
-Social distancing guidelines were loosened on April 23, but some restaurants, clubs, and bars still had restrictions 
-On April 23, social distancing guidelines were halted in 28 cities and restrictions were relaxed, and shops, business, and other non-essential services could reopen; schools also reopened in some areas
-As of April 24, 2020, there were no deaths due to Covid-19 reported and 83.3%(225/270) of cases had reportedly recovered
-On April 24, the Prime Minister implemented policies for assistance for citizens affected by the Covid-19 pandemic-citizens in medical isolation were given around 80 thousand VND/d and had all direct medical fees covered

Stage III of Vietnam's Response

Implemented penalties for violations of Covid-19 restrictions and policies including: 
-not wearing masks in public
-spreading fake news
-lying about health statuses
-refusing to close non-essential businesses
-gathering with groups of more than ten other people


Vietnam's Response to Violations

-450,000 protective suits and 200,000 face masks were transported to the United States
-$100,000 in medical supplies were supplied to Japan
-550,000 face masks were supplied to Europe and around 730,000 more face masks to countries surrounding Vietnam

Vietnam's Aide to other Countries to Help Combat Covid-19

-The Ministry of Health already had a guideline for the diagnosis and treatment of Covid-19 in Vietnam that was issued on January 16, 2020, and was repeatedly updated as more information was gained throughout the pandemic
-The National Steering Committee and the 45 Response Teams for outbreak prevention and control were created on January 30 when the pandemic was found in Vietnam
-On February 7, Vietnam successfully cultured and isolated the novel coronavirus strain-this would provide further research and the development of the vaccine, as well as provided preventative measures of the virus
-On March 5, Vietnam manufactured Covid-19 detection test kits and was able to manufacture 10,000 test kits per day

Why Vietnam's Approach to the Covid-19 Pandemic was Effective

A visual representation detailing the number of COVID-19 cases in Vietnam across Stage I, Stage II, and Stage III of the country's government pandemic response.

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