Official Vietnam Government Coronavirus (COVID-19) Info Site

SteinNebraska wrote:

I read that on the news for Hanoi, but hadn't heard or read anything for HCMC yet.

VietCanada wrote:

I definitely saw an article saying HCMC had created 65 checkpoints and something else but I can't find it now on any of the sites I get news. I should have linked it.

Below is the link in Vietnamese.  It's a simple article, Google Translate shouldn't mess it up too badly.  If anyone needs to read it in English without using Google, let me know and I'll translate it tomorrow.  Heading to bed now.

Sixty-two Checkpoints in Saigon

And here are the locations of the main 16 checkpoints (the title indicates 16, but only 14 are listed):

Nicely done Ciambella!

Ciambella wrote:

And here are the locations of the main 16 checkpoints:

I realize that these are only 16 of 64 stations and per Google Translate I realize that this is "not to blockade the city" but don't you think that posting the location of checkpoints kind of defeats the purpose?    Younger Vietnamese motorbike riders in particular are adept at seeking out alternate routes to avoid law enforcement.

THIGV wrote:

Younger Vietnamese motorbike riders in particular are adept at seeking out alternate routes to avoid law enforcement.

No need for them to find a detour.  Shuttle buses transporting workers, vehicles carrying patients for emergency or re-examination, motorbikes, and personal cars of 4 or 7 seats are exempt.

Their IDs will still examined and masks must be worn, but they'll not be turned away from enter the city if a justifiable purpose is given.

Ciambella wrote:

Shuttle buses transporting workers, vehicles carrying patients for emergency or re-examination, motorbikes, and personal cars of 4 or 7 seats are exempt.

That sounds like 99.9% of all traffic.    Exceptions become the rule.  Anyway it's a lot better than nothing.

According to official VN statistics there have been no covid deaths. In a country of 100m is this credible? Just today I heard China has updated its death toll by 50% from that originally stated for Wuhan.
I'm due to move out there - Hanoi- soon to take up a teaching position but find such numbers hard to believe.

The VN government identifies each patient with a number and nationality. There are even pictures in the media sometimes when patients survive.

This isn't China. I've been there. Xi is only concerned with his own power and reputation. He's a madman like Putin who thinks he can conquer the world. It's obvious that he would lie about anything to maintain the illusion that China is the future  ruler of the world. VN isn't that.

It2VN wrote:

According to official VN statistics there have been no covid deaths. In a country of 100m is this credible? Just today I heard China has updated its death toll by 50% from that originally stated for Wuhan.
I'm due to move out there - Hanoi- soon to take up a teaching position but find such numbers hard to believe.

As VietCanada stated above, this is Vietnam, not China.  It's *extremely* difficult, even impossible, to hide dead people here.   

There are many reasons Vietnam has been able to avoid the death toll in this pandemic:

- People wear mask daily.  Many women also wear gloves.  When they're driving, women cover themselves from head to toe.  When they get home, they shed their "outside" clothing to change into home clothing.  Those lifelong habits have become the first effective weapon against the spread of virus.

- Since Feb when coronavirus started, the average temperature in Vietnam is 30°C and it has been climbing up with each day passed, together with humidity.  Most coronavirus transmissions occurred in regions with dry climate and temperature below 20°C.  Hanoi has more cases than Saigon because it's colder in the North.

- Flights were shut down and schools were closed immediately when the outbreaks in China were disclosed.  Two weeks later, provinces in the North were put under 3-week quarantine. 

- People report to the authorities and publish on social media straight away anytime they suspect someone is infected.  Very strong neighbourhood watch and surveillance means the virus is stopped at its onset.

- Test, quarantine, food, medicine, and hospital cost are 100% waived for infected people means no one needs to hide.  (The government has just begun to charge foreigners now.)

- Patients are kept in hospital until all symptoms are gone, then any pre-existing condition that may cause relapses also be taken care of at no charge.  Before being released, patients must receive 3 negative results, not just one.  Afterwards, patients must continue another 14 days in self-isolation before they're allowed to have contact with the public.

- People who are under self-isolation are supervised daily by health officials.

Those are from the top of my head.  You can find out more if you just spend a few minutes researching and reading. 

The combination of those factors is the reason Vietnam has escaped coronavirus death toll so far.  Doesn't matter that you find it hard to believe, the zero death is not a made-up number.

Thanks for detailed feedback .
It's all very reassuring.

Schools closed until May 3.

This link is to the Viet Nam Government portal website.

HCMC extends school closure until May 3 due to COVID-19 15:58 | 18/04/2020 VGP – Ho Chi Minh City authorities have decided to extend school closure until May 3 due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

These three reports kind of go together. We are no where near herd immunity and we don't even know if that's a thing with this virus.

These three links are from Tuoi Tre news AKA Vietnam news gateway.

Vietnam aims for safe coexistence with COVID-19: Deputy PM Saturday, April 18, 2020, 17:07 GMT+7


WHO unsure antibodies protect against COVID, little sign of herd immunity Saturday, April 18, 2020, 09:27 GMT+7


Ho Chi Minh City leader expects to see services ‘return to normal' in July Friday, April 17, 2020, 16:14 GMT+7

Ciambella wrote:

- Since Feb when coronavirus started, the average temperature in Vietnam is 30°C and it has been climbing up with each day passed, together with humidity.  Most coronavirus transmissions occurred in regions with dry climate and temperature below 20°C.  Hanoi has more cases than Saigon because it's colder in the North.

Don't the numbers from Indonesia/Malaysia/Philippines/Singapore refute this point?

atomheart wrote:

Ciambella wrote:

- Since Feb when coronavirus started, the average temperature in Vietnam is 30°C and it has been climbing up with each day passed, together with humidity.  Most coronavirus transmissions occurred in regions with dry climate and temperature below 20°C.  Hanoi has more cases than Saigon because it's colder in the North.

Don't the numbers from Indonesia/Malaysia/Philippines/Singapore refute this point?

It hasn't been determined yet whether Covid is seasonal. Ciambellas's other reasons for the 0 body count should make sense to anyone who's lived here awhile. The clothes changing thing while obvious (in the sense that women do do that here) is particularly insightful (in the sense that it would help curtail the spread of the virus).

All in all an excellent post deserving of widespread attention in these uncertain times.

VietCanada wrote:

Ciambellas's other reasons for the 0 body count should make sense to anyone who's lived here awhile.

I didn't want to argue the other points or the main message that the numbers are probably real. But that one point is problematic, right?

When I do finally get to go back to the US in the next couple of months I know our work policy is to self-quarantine at home for 14 days.  I look at the exposure level here in VN and the risk level there and think "why would you worry about me?  We are clean here." But I guess I have airplane/airport exposure to consider.

I just saw a news article from my hometown.  Lincoln Nebraska does have a decent little airport.  They said they are averaging 3-8 passengers per DAY on the five of so remaining active flights.  Pretty easy to social distance at the airport with those kind of numbers.

The reason for the article is that the airport got a $5.6 million grant from the government for COVID19.  Seems more than enough money because the article said they are losing $240,000 per month, mostly from loss of parking revenue.

atomheart wrote:

Don't the numbers from Indonesia/Malaysia/Philippines/Singapore refute this point?

I don't know about the Philippines and Singapore, but for Indonesia and Malaysia, their customs, habits, and religion formed a huge deterrent in the fight against Covid-19:

-  not many people wear masks
-  eating with hands
-  religious gatherings (16k people over 3 days in KL alone)
-  Malaysian and Indonesian governments faced many problems from religious leaders in their attempt to close down mosques
-  political upheavals in Malaysia happened at the same time as the outbreaks
-  the belief that fear of something outside of God, including COVID-19, is considered a deviation from the faith

Ciambella wrote:

atomheart wrote:

Don't the numbers from Indonesia/Malaysia/Philippines/Singapore refute this point?

I don't know about the Philippines and Singapore, but for Indonesia and Malaysia, their customs, habits, and religion formed a huge deterrent in the fight against Covid-19:

-  not many people wear masks
-  eating with hands
-  religious gatherings (16k people over 3 days in KL alone)
-  Malaysian and Indonesian governments faced many problems from religious leaders in their attempt to close down mosques
-  political upheavals in Malaysia happened at the same time as the outbreaks
-  the belief that fear of something outside of God, including COVID-19, is considered a deviation from the faith

Here's a CNBC link which might shed some light on the subject:

cnbc. com/amp/2020/04/20/southeast-asia-could-be-the-next-coronavirus-hot-spot-these-charts-show-why.html

OceanBeach92107 wrote:

Here's a CNBC link which might shed some light on the subject:

As the aforementioned link is from CNBC and not Official Vietnam Government Coronavirus (COVID-19) Info, as described in the thread title, it is clearly off topic and should be posted on a different thread.

The CNBC article isn't even about VN specifically. It's just lumping every country together and inducting a conclusion for the whole region based on a very small sample size of a couple country's experiences.

As I mentioned in a previous post and Ciambella has eloquently outlined in a few more, SE Asia is not a single country. Each individual country has it's own culture, appearance,  beliefs - religious, political, historical or otherwise that inform their day to day behaviour. Just like Europe for example.

What happens in Indonesia is not a predictor for VN any more than what has happened in Italy predicted what has happened in Germany.

The article is a a puff piece at best, click bait at worst. Most certainly it is sadly ignorant of SE Asian reality. A site like CNBC really should really step up if they want to be truly credible as a source for world economic issues.

This article is a fail in so many ways.

Here's a website that has articles about countries written by people who actually belong to the culture they are writing about.

Global Voices

It's a big world. The only dominant viewpoint is living day to day in a world overloaded by guns and madmen. Candidates for the great filter that just found they have competition in the days of Covid.
What to do? LOL.

Sitting pretty in VN I must say.... 

April 26               Per Million Population           
                             Total Cases    Deaths    Active Cases
    USA                                   2,937    165.8     2,575.6
    CANADA                             1,207      65.6       769.6
    VIETNAM                           3        0.0           0.5

RCrash wrote:

Sitting pretty in VN I must say.... 

April 26               Per Million Population           
                             Total Cases    Deaths    Active Cases
    USA                                   2,937    165.8     2,575.6
    CANADA                             1,207      65.6       769.6
    VIETNAM                           3        0.0           0.5

Vietnam's statistics are good but not that good.  I don't have the official statistics at hand but I believe that as of 20/4 there were 268 infections with 207 recovered and no deaths.   That is an admirable record but not as good as you cite.  I have also read that the situation in Singapore which was considered contained is now breaking down with a surge of new infections.  While as others have stated correctly that every Southeast Asian nation is unique, I still hope the Vietnamese government is watching Singapore closely to avoid making similar mistakes.

THIGV wrote:

RCrash wrote:

Sitting pretty in VN I must say.... 

April 26               Per Million Population           
                             Total Cases    Deaths    Active Cases
    USA                                   2,937    165.8     2,575.6
    CANADA                             1,207      65.6       769.6
    VIETNAM                           3        0.0           0.5

Vietnam's statistics are good but not that good.  I don't have the official statistics at hand but I believe that as of 20/4 there were 268 infections with 207 recovered and no deaths.   That is an admirable record but not as good as you cite.  I have also read that the situation in Singapore which was considered contained is now breaking down with a surge of new infections.  While as others have stated correctly that every Southeast Asian nation is unique, I still hope the Vietnamese government is watching Singapore closely to avoid making similar mistakes.

I personally dont think the situation in Singapore was really contained, surge seen now  in Singapore is coming from the immigrant workers dormitories (rooms) where workers live, sleep & eat 6 or more to a room & these workers would not have been keen to come forward voluntarily to the authorities. Only now when it has got out of hand is the true extent now coming out. Some other SEA countries might take heed!
Before any smart ass asks how I know this...........I worked in Sing (office & shipyards for 5 years) & have seen the conditions some of the Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis live.

Until there is guaranteed evidence to suggest warmer / cooler climates or indeed any other variable people need to stay focused.

BBC news just announced over 20,000 deaths in the UK. The much admired NHS is on the verge of collapse.

Clear statement if any was needed the virus does not "choose" victims based on race, religion, sex, or any other variance in the world population.

Is it a human created virus ? Probably not directly but I suspect that the way society around the world behaves these days has something to do with it.

Over reliance on antibiotics is common place in the west. Go to the doctor with sniffles.. here have same penicillin or similar type of drugs.

This could all be just a wake up call, nature controlling the population ? Survival of the fittest?

Anyway, back to the original suggestion that some countries manage better then others. Yes it's true, some do and Vietnam has done an amazing job. Friends back home often ask what I see here done differently... In part it's the social isolation working but also I think the fear factor that if things did get out of control then there would be no stopping it here due to the lower standard or healthcare available. This is not to suggest the healthcare professionals here are not doing an amazing job, because clearly they are. Lower infection is a good achievement bit more impressive is the lack of fatalities. 

As many of you may have seen I had some problems with extending my visa and validation of my VEC. A trip to the local police station (a first for me) and had to be early because they had an event on.. the event turned out to be that particular station organising and distributing food to the registered poor in the area. Basics, rice, eggs, noodles etc.. maybe 20USD worth. All packaged and checked to be equal..

As we waited for the local police to stamp my docs for me.. we watched as the police officers managed and distributed these food parcels in the yard of the station.. all done with humility and genuine care for the locals. Quite an emotional sight to witness..

So hats off the the doctors, nurses,police etc.. a real credit to the strength and resolve of the Vietnamese citizens in HCM.

I feel safer here than I did back home in Essex, and feel more confident here that behind the scenes the local committee have everyone's best interests in mind

goodolboy wrote:

THIGV wrote:

RCrash wrote:

Sitting pretty in VN I must say.... 

April 26               Per Million Population           
                             Total Cases    Deaths    Active Cases
    USA                                   2,937    165.8     2,575.6
    CANADA                             1,207      65.6       769.6
    VIETNAM                           3        0.0           0.5

Vietnam's statistics are good but not that good.  I don't have the official statistics at hand but I believe that as of 20/4 there were 268 infections with 207 recovered and no deaths.   That is an admirable record but not as good as you cite.  I have also read that the situation in Singapore which was considered contained is now breaking down with a surge of new infections.  While as others have stated correctly that every Southeast Asian nation is unique, I still hope the Vietnamese government is watching Singapore closely to avoid making similar mistakes.

I personally dont think the situation in Singapore was really contained, surge seen now  in Singapore is coming from the immigrant workers dormitories (rooms) where workers live, sleep & eat 6 or more to a room & these workers would not have been keen to come forward voluntarily to the authorities. Only now when it has got out of hand is the true extent now coming out. Some other SEA countries might take heed!
Before any smart ass asks how I know this...........I worked in Sing (office & shipyards for 5 years) & have seen the conditions some of the Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis live.

Any busy hub that relies on trade will be a bigger risk..

UK the other day started ferrying in foreign workers to collect the crops because UK workers didn't want to do it because of works fears..

So much for restricting immigration and freedom of movement that fueled Brexit
Fair weather voters me thinks

goodolboy

Have to agree and you can add several other nationalities to the list. They would stand in groups waiting for contractors pickups to drive up and offer them a days work. I have been involved in several projects near the causeway and was appalled at the conditions these guys were living in, the fact that they were illegal workers was entirely overlooked by the authorities in return for cheap labour. They could not come forward when sick for obvious reasons. I do not know the situation with regards to illegal workers in Vietnam but hope that financial pressures do not force the authorities here to lower their guard too soon as they have so far done an excellent job.

Not true 35 thousands UK citizens signed up to pick crops but out sourcing companies preferred to go for cheap foreign labour again which is facilitated by EU subsidies

Hey @THIGV - just to be clear, my little (poorly formatted chart) is in "per millions of population" if you look just above the nums.  I avoid absolute numbers, because, for example, VN has 3X the pop of Canada, and US has greater than 3X the population of VN.  So its not useful to look at absolute cases between them, and "per million pop" fixes that.   If you want absolutes, then VN still looks great.  Just 270 total cases, 45 active cases, and no deaths.  Data is from the great Johns Hopkins site and Worldometers  www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#countries

RCrash wrote:

Hey @THIGV - just to be clear, my little (poorly formatted chart) is in "per millions of population" if you look just above the nums.  I avoid absolute numbers, because, for example, VN has 3X the pop of Canada, and US has greater than 3X the population of VN.  So its not useful to look at absolute cases between them, and "per million pop" fixes that.   If you want absolutes, then VN still looks great.  Just 270 total cases, 45 active cases, and no deaths.  Data is from the great Johns Hopkins site and Worldometers  www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#countries

I think a legitimate concern is lumping together a whole country. In Canada for example most regions have had almost no infections, let alone deaths. Here in VN most cases come from two or three regions or cities.

I am watching a video about this issue and it affects ending restrictions on people. Should the Northwest Territories of Canada for example have to continue staying home because the city of Montreal has so many cases? Or because senior's homes in Ontario have been hard hit?

Looking at specific eruptions in cities, regions or circumstance is probably more accurate than whole countries. Not really any different than lumping geopolitical regions because of a single country or city or for that matter a circumstance in a country. The plight of immigrant worker's living conditions, having an international airport or seniors living in homes in some countries is not a reflection of the countries response as a whole.

It most certainly should not be used to compare one's safety in different countries.

RCrash wrote:

if you look just above the nums.

My fault I missed that. 

Here's a pretty in depth article about the factors involved when trying to compare whole countries. It's from CTV news a Canadian TV network.

Breaking down the COVID-19 numbers: Should we be comparing countries?

When I read stuff like this I don't feel secure in VN at all. Especially when I see my neighbours partying like it's 1999. No masks, large groups sharing a mike for karaoke, out of towners visiting. Crazy. I do not feel secure here at all.

it's also not surprising that wealthy nations with an unencumbered press have bigger numbers. Even then the article gives examples of countries not including asymptomatics, or hospital test results. It has been estimated that as many as 60% of infected people show no symptoms they just spread it around.

AFAIK the total number of VN tested so far is around the same number as the UK tests daily. Temperature checks are something. So there's that. Enforcing social distancing, masks, most of my neighbours live a quarantine lifestyle under normal circumstances.

Numbers alone, however expressed are just a tool. They are in no way the whole reality.

VietCanada wrote:

When I read stuff like this I don't feel secure in VN at all. Especially when I see my neighbours partying like it's 1999. No masks, large groups sharing a mike for karaoke, out of towners visiting. Crazy. I do not feel secure here at all.........................

Enforcing social distancing, masks, most of my neighbours live a quarantine lifestyle under normal circumstances.

These statements seem contrary to each other but both certainly ring true.  For the first group of karaoke singers, in a cruel sounding way, the absence of deaths in Vietnam may actually cause an unrealistic lack of concern.  If deaths were in the hundreds, the shock might mean that karaoke machine gets put away.  Your other neighbors who regularly wear a mask every time they go out on a motorbike only have to keep it on when they enter shops or wherever their destination.  This is a fortunate preexisting aspect of modern Vietnamese culture.

THIGV: There are about 30+ living units on my little block. Most of the occupants never come out except to take kids to school, go shopping, go to work.  They stay inside and keep their doors locked. All the time.

About 6 to 8 of the unit's occupants spend most of their time socializing with each other. Including drinking parties and karaoke parties.

I have noticed this in other areas I've lived here.

House size doesn't seem to have anything to do with it as far as I can tell.

I fear we have strayed a long way from the theme of the thread title.  These posts may be moved to another thread or deleted altogether.

THIGV wrote:

I fear we have strayed a long way from the theme of the thread title.  These posts may be moved to another thread or deleted altogether.

I have no doubt OceanBeach will provide guidance.

Indices wrote:

THIGV wrote:

I fear we have strayed a long way from the theme of the thread title.  These posts may be moved to another thread or deleted altogether.

I have no doubt OceanBeach will provide guidance.

I decided to meditate as y'all share.

Nothing offensive so it's white noise to me...

Saigon News and VietNamNet news both report that schools in HCMC will reopen.
 
May 4: Grade 9 and 12 students.
May 11: grade 4 to 8,  grade 10 and 11.
May 12 grades 1 to 4.
Kindergarten will reopen between May 18 and June 1.

Here's the VietNamNet link:

HCM City schools to reopen from May 4, entertainment facilities remain closed

In other news: Nice Buddha!

Maybe people have seen the Reuters report-
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-heal … tyDChM_AZQ

It2VN:  Thank you for this link.  I found the article very informative and interesting.   One thing is that, contrary to what is said in the text, Vietnam has not really conducted many tests.  The current number, 214,713, is only 215 per 100,000 population while the US which most consider considerable behind in testing is at 1587 per 100,000.  I think the secret lies in how the tests are being used and in the strictness of the quarantine of the few arrivals that have been allowed.  The US supposedly stopped air travel from China but let 40,000 exceptions enter anyway.  Vietnam put arrivals from all countries in real quarantine facilities or truly enforced at-home detention.  Hawaii, the only US state that is geographically suited to quarantining arrivals, started with talk of using a converted prison facility but ended up asking arrivals to remain in their hotel rooms or homes.  You can imagine how well that worked.  Just today four tourists were arrested for leaving their rooms but the potential damage from their going out had already been done.

The secret to Vietnam's testing seems to lie not in how many tests were given but to whom.  The high negative test rate is indicative of the use of tests on those who are in quarantine as opposed to mostly testing those who show up at hospitals with pneumonia as in western countries. Hopefully Vietnam has a reserve testing capacity that would be sufficient to do the job if another outbreak were to occur, but for now the country has a right to be proud.

hi all, any updates on approximately when Vietnam will lift mandatory quarantine for incoming people?  I know that there was a new case from an inbound UK person a few days ago.

Never.

Maybe I should elaborate a bit.

As long as Covid-19 exists no sane country is going to lift quarantine on travellers.

Many reports from scientists say that anywhere form 60 - 80 % of Covid infected do not show symptoms. Only testing suspected cases does not reveal how widespread the virus is.

If, after two or more weeks there is no community transfer then it may be safe to start easing restrictions. But it is still a gamble none the less. A risk many countries are willing to take to prevent economic collapse. The future is very uncertain but containment and contract tracing do seem to be pretty effective.