German media: Vietnam determined to fight ongoing COVID-19 outbreak

The Handelsblatt (Commerce) newspaper ran an article on July 30 reporting that after 99 consecutive days with no cases of community infection, the country then confirmed its 416th patient in central Da Nang city, marking the return of the disease.

It also looked at Vietnam’s efforts and the strong measures taken to control the pandemic since the first outbreak in January.

Vietnam closed schools in February and conducted systematic testing of all persons having contact with COVID-19 patients, the article noted.

In March, Vietnam banned the entry of all foreigners, while Vietnamese citizens returning home were quarantined for 14 days, it added.
With such stringent measures, Vietnam has managed to limit the number of infections to only a few hundred and achieved remarkable results in the treatment of COVID-19 patients.

According to the article, in this second outbreak, Vietnam took the decision quickly to stop air and rail travel to and from Da Nang, close beaches, and ban large gatherings. Bars and festivities in Hanoi and HCM City have also been suspended.

The paper said foreign observers are concerned about the development of COVID-19 in Vietnam, because it serves as an example of how difficult it is to prevent the pandemic, even when the strictest of immigration controls are in place.

The article noted that the Vietnamese Government is very much determined to respond to the new outbreak, quoting Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc as saying it is necessary to act more quickly and decisively to control the disease.

The German newspaper also cited Fitch Ratings as saying that the strength of Vietnam’s growth momentum owes much to the country’s success in curbing the pandemic.

Meanwhile, German national television news channel Tagesschau (ARD) reported on the fact that Vietnam has detected new cases in the community after nearly 100 days and has quickly adopted measures to prevent the outbreak.

Other German newspapers such as DW and TAZ also reported on Vietnam’s fight against the outbreak./.