The index assesses 121 countries and regions on infectionmanagement, vaccine rollouts and social mobility. A higher ranking indicates amore advanced recovery, characterised by lower infection and death rates,better inoculation coverage and fewer restrictions on movement.
From the 100th place when the ranking was first published inJuly 2021, Vietnam has seen significant improvement to be ranked in the topten for four straight months since May 2022.
A number of other Southeast Asian countries also recorded significant improvement in the ranking, notably Cambodia at the 4th place with 76.5 points, the highest in the region.
According to Nikkei, Vietnam and Cambodia have achieved adramatic turnaround. They had early success in managing the coronavirus oneyear into the pandemic, but were then hit hard by the delta variant in themiddle of 2021, when they had barely started mass inoculations. This forced theduo to impose draconian measures, including lockdowns.
Nevertheless, they successfully expedited their inoculationdrives. Vietnam earned full marks, or a score of 30, for vaccinations in thelatest index, while Cambodia scored 29. Both governments have droppedCOVID-related restrictions and fully reopened to international tourists.
Their progress has translated into brighter economic outlooks.In its latest economic forecast, the World Bank raised Vietnam's annual growthprediction to 7.2% from 5.3% and Cambodia's to 4.8% from 4.5%.
The October edition of the index is the finalinstallment, as some data sources will soon cease to be updated./.