German newspaper praises Vietnam's fight against COVID-19

The newspaper analyzed the models in fighting the pandemic by rich countries against poor and developing countries, as well as differences in the political systems of countries relative to the effectiveness of the pandemic prevention. The article quoted experts saying that poor countries had been more successful in preventing the pandemic than rich ones, and stated that the political system was not a decisive factor but creativity and efficiency.

According to the article, while the number of cases is on the rise in most European countries and some US states, African countries recorded the lowest increase for weeks. Vietnam, Mongolia and Thailand have almost wiped out the virus in these countries. The idea of a Pool-Test which allows these countries to conduct massive testing to promptly isolate infected cases is a particularly effective way in countries with limited capacity for testing.

The article cites assessment saying that Germany should look to Vietnam to see the effectiveness of its efforts to prevent and control the pandemic. While Germany has recorded nearly 10,000 deaths from COVID-19, Vietnam - a country with a population of 100 million people - has so far only reported 35 deaths. 

The article confirmed that the Governments of countries like Vietnam, China, Singapore or the Republic of Korea with good control of the pandemic, had taken serious action early against the threat of a pandemic and effectively disseminated pandemic information. In addition, experience against previous pandemics, such as the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003, is also a favorable factor for countries to deal with the pandemic. 

According to another article posted on FAZ published on the same day, despite strict preventive measures against COVID-19, Vietnam still expects growth of over 2% this year. In fact, the COVID-19 pandemic has also affected some of the poorest people in the region. For the first time in decades, poverty rates in the region have risen, and according to the World Bank (WB), the pandemic could put about 38 million people in East Asia into poverty./.