No new community COVID-19 infection in four consecutive weeks: what lesson can be learned from Vietnam

Abstract

Sharing a common land border with China, Vietnam has faced a high risk of transmission of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Rapid decision making and robust public health measures were established by the Vietnamese Government to control the situation. As of 17 May 2020, Vietnam reported 320 total confirmed cases of COVID-19, of whom 260 had fully recovered, while the remaining 60 cases were still under treatment. Noteworthy, the current data still confirms zero deaths and within the last 32 consecutive days prior to this submission, there have been no new infections in the country. Valuable lessons from Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome in 2003 such as use of quarantine, early recognition and quick response to the infection, and increased awareness of its citizens have put Vietnam in a somewhat better position against COVID-19 compared to other places. Vietnam, at the current time, mulls declaring an end of the current COVID-19 outbreak.

Keywords: COVID-19; Vietnam; challenges; public health measures; situation.