Posted Courtesy of Wright Enterprises Community Spotlight~~~
Commentary
BY ANH LÊ
Vietnam and the Vietnamese people have confronted the COVID-19 corona virus pandemic, and their quick and united national response has produced remarkable results and earned the recognition of top public health experts and organizations around the world.
COVID-19, also known as the novel corona virus, was first reported to infect people in Wuhan, China, around December 2019 and January 2020. There were many infections and deaths from COVID-19 in Wuhan.
Vietnam acted swiftly to defeat the COVID-19 corona virus.
Vietnam's government and Ministry of Health took early actions as soon as it became aware of the COVID-19 epidemic that struck Wuhan, China.
Vietnam ordered mandatory 14-day quarantines for anyone entering the country. It performed quick screenings at Hanoi's Noi Ba Airport and Tan Son Nhat Airport in Ho Chi Minh City. It suspended flights to and from China.
Vietnam organized quarantine camps to house overseas citizens who were returning home.
Vietnam's measures to combat COVID-19 included not only quarantines and self isolation, but also contact tracing of its citizens.
The government required that anyone who had been infected with COVID-19 be quarantined and self isolate, and report all the people that person had come in contact with, so that those individuals would also have to be quarantined.
It implemented a strict community surveillance plan in which neighbors were required to report anyone infected with COVID-19.
The government ordered a 21-day quarantine in the village of Son Loi, in Vinh Phuc province, north of Hanoi, to prevent COVID-19 infection.
At quarantine camps, the government required "social distancing" among the people who were housed there.
The government ordered schools to close since January.
A mass quarantine or national lockdown began on March 16. People were ordered to self isolate at home. People were required to wear masks. "Social distancing" was required. Buses and taxis stopped running.
A strong national public health education campaign on COVID-19 informed the Vietnamese people what they were being asked to do throughout the country. Large street signs on COVID-19, public service announcements, daily briefings from the government, and information on COVID-19 in newspapers, magazines, TV, and radio informed the public. It was a united national effort for the country of 96 million people.
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc called on the nation of Vietnam and the Vietnamese people to be united in "the spring general offensive of 2020."
Emergency response teams were spread throughout Vietnam. People were urged to see their health care facility if they felt they had symptoms of COVID-19.
The number of COVID-19 infections in Vietnam has been very low, in the 200's range, and there have been no deaths from the corona virus. As of May 1, there were 270 confirmed cases of infection.
Vietnam's success in combating COVID-19 has been recognized and applauded by the World Health Organization (WHO), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, and other top public health and infectious diseases experts.
The U.S. ambassador to Vietnam, Daniel Kritenbrink, praised Vietnam's success in combatting COVID-19, during a recent visit to Orange County, California, home of the largest Vietnamese American community in the U.S., where he spoke to Vietnamese American media.
Vietnam has not only been successful in defeating COVID-19 on its home front, it has also reached out to the international community to help other nations.
Vietnam hosted a virtual Summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to coordinate efforts to combat COVID-19.
Vietnam also donated supplies and medical aid to Laos, Cambodia, Italy, Spain, Germany, Russia, France, Britain, and the U.S.
Vietnam donated 450,000 personal protective suits to the U.S., which it produced in 10 days in a ramped-up program. It shipped the suits from Hanoi to Dallas, Texas.
Vietnam was also going to donate an additional 450,000 personal protective suits to the United States. Both shipments would go to the United States' Strategic National Stockpile and be distributed throughout the U.S.
Vietnam has also donated other supplies such as face shields, masks, and shoe covers.
On Vietnam's government website, it states that Vietnam's donations are given in "(the) spirit of mutual support to partner countries, including the U.S." and "this is also Vietnam's participation and contribution to the global effort to push back the COVID-19 epidemic."
As we honor and applaud Vietnam's success in combatting COVID-19, we also pause to reflect on and commemorate the date, April 30, 1975.
On that date, the War in Vietnam ended, forty five years ago.
In that war, almost 4 million Vietnamese children, women, and men were killed. 58,220 American soldiers perished.
The United States military dropped bombs over Vietnam four times the tonnage of bombs dropped in Europe during World War II.
The historical record of the Vietnam War also shows that the United States unleashed all of its military armaments on the nation of Vietnam and the Vietnamese people, including B-52 bombers, napalm, cluster bombs, and the herbicide and defoliant Agent Orange.
The historical record also shows that the United States, the most powerful nation in the world, waged war in Vietnam, a small area of Southeast Asia, and perpetrated horrific acts of war against the Vietnamese people such as the My Lai Massacre.
On April 30, 1975, the Vietnamese prevailed.
The Vietnam War ended.
The killing and bloodshed stopped.
When we see how Vietnam is helping the United States during this COVID-19 pandemic, we not only see Vietnam's generosity and large heart to the U.S. and the international community, we also see that Vietnam displays the true meaning of "turning swords into plowshares" in its humanitarian assistance to the United States and the American people.
Let us reclaim our belief in the sanctity and preciousness of human life.
Chuc Nuoc Viet Nam Hoa Binh Mai Mai!
May Vietnam Enjoy Everlasting Peace!
###
ANH LÊ IS A SAN FRANCISCO BASED INDEPENDENT JOURNALIST.
COPYRIGHT ANH LÊ, MAY 1, 2020
https://www.prlog.org/12821287-vietnam-vs-covid-19-how-small-nation-defeated-global-enemy.html