A banner on a street in Vinh Phuc province to mobilise people stay safe amid the COVID-19 pandemic (Photo: VNA)Berlin (VNA) - German newspaper Der Spiegel published an article on April 28praising Vietnam’s efforts in the prevention and control of COVID-19.
The article noted that onlytwo new cases have been reported in the past 12 days while 221 patients haverecovered and the country has had no fatalities.
The fact that the VietnameseGovernment has eased the social distancing order it imposed on April 1expresses the country’s confidence that the situation is under control, DerSpiegel added.
Wearing face masks in publicremains compulsory around the country while schools are still closed untilfurther notice. Crowds of up to 20 people are once again permitted, whiledomestic flights have re-started and shopping malls are open.
The article quoted Dr. LeongHoe Nam, an infectious disease expert from the Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospitalin Singapore, as saying that he had great admiration for Vietnam and called thecountry a role model in fighting the pandemic.
The German newspaper alsocited Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc as imploring people in January “to fightthe epidemic as if fighting an enemy.”
The PM ordered the closure ofschools and border areas with China and Vietnam also banned the entry offoreign tourists and applied quarantine measures on citizens returning fromabroad.
The article also emphasisedVietnam’s strict communications policy. Every day the Ministry of Health hassent updated COVID-19 news via SMS to all mobile phone owners and thegovernment uses public loudspeakers to mobilize the population in healthprotection measures. Anyone spreading false news on social media about thevirus has been fined.
The article also appreciatedthe generosity of a group of former Vietnamese students in Germany who collectedaround 300 million VND (12,000 USD) to buy about 4,000 FFP-3 and N-95 masks forGerman doctors./.
