Vietnamese government response to the COVID-19 pandemic

Advance preparations[edit]

According to Kidong Park, World Health Organization representative to Vietnam, the first risk assessment exercise was conducted by the Vietnamese in early January – soon after cases in China started being reported.^[3] On 3 January 2020, the day before the WHO said there was a cluster of cases in Wuhan, Vietnam tightened control at the Vietnam-China border.^[4][5] The Ministry of Health held a meeting with the WHO and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as early as 15 January, weeks before many other countries even started strategizing.^[6][7] These combined efforts of quick action and effective testing helped slow the spread of the virus in its earliest stages.^[8]


Regional COVID-19 prevention task forces were established, and these groups were prepared for deployment by the Ministry of Health to provincial treatment sites. In view of an assumed increased infection risk among medical staff as had been seen during the SARS outbreak, personal protective equipment was stockpiled, and infection control measures were heightened at hospitals.


On 23 January, Vietnam confirmed its first case. Shortly afterward, the Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc ramped up Vietnam's response by issuing an urgent document to ministries, provinces, and broadcasting agencies addressing the dangerousness of the virus and the need for measures to prevent local transmission.^[9] On 24 January, just one day after the first cases, the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam ordered the cancellation of all flights from and to Wuhan.^[10][11][12] As Vietnam celebrated the Tết holiday, the Prime Minister declared war on the coronavirus. "Fighting this epidemic is like fighting the enemy", he said at an urgent Communist Party meeting on 27 January.^[12]


On 31 January, infectious disease expert Nguyễn Thanh Long was appointed as deputy Minister of Health and later as Minister of Health, he served as one of the main government advisors regarding the pandemic.^[13] On the same day, Vietnam implemented stricter measures, suspending inbound and outbound flights related to the epicenters in China, restricting tourists, dosing train connection, and suggested people suspend trade and other exchange activities between the two countries. Such a decision to limit cross-border transactions with China indicated the extent of the government's commitment to prioritizing public health.^[14]


In January, the government also issued the first National Response Plan and assembled the National Steering Committee (NSC). The committee, led by Deputy Prime Minister Vũ Đức Đam with representation from 14 ministries and sectors, the National Assembly, media, and information technology companies will command and control the country COVID-19 response.^[15] Vietnam has 63 provincial health departments, an approximately 600 district health centers and more than 11,000 primary health stations. While hospitals provide medical care for COVID-19 patients, the primary health stations are responsible for prevention activities and total support for hospitals. In fact, an approximately 97,000 health officers at community level in these sections serve as the workers to provide information, advice, guidance, and isolation facilities if needed.^[16]


In February 2020, Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training suspended all school activities across the country until the end of March as part of quarantine measures against the spreading of the virus, and later extended this till the middle of April until further notice.^[17] Aggressive measures were also taken to combat possible outbreaks, from 14 days quarantine to restriction of outdoor activities (some sources believe it was more than 20 to 40 days under quarantine),^[18] the Vietnam People's Armed Forces also takes part on patrolling and controlling measures.^[19] Sixty-eight military camps with a capacity of 40,000 people were set up to receive people ordered into quarantine.^[20]


The first case of mass quarantine in Vietnam took place on February 12 in Sơn Lôi, Vĩnh Phúc, a community of 10,000 people for 20 days over seven coronavirus cases – the first large-scale lockdown known outside China.^[12] Aggressive preventive action enabled Vietnam to contain the earlier outbreaks, with only 16 cases, all recovered, by the end of February.^[21][22]


On the night of 6 March, when the 17th case was reported in Hanoi, the city held an urgent meeting, then coordinated with related ministries — including the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Public Security, and Ministry of Transportation — to prevent the virus from spreading to the community. Thanks to this effective coordination, public health measures such as aggressive contact tracing, mandatory quarantine, and sterilization of surfaces were taken immediately, which enabled the government to stop community transmission and lift the large-scale lockdown still common in many Southeast Asian nations at that time.^[23] On March 7, Hanoi locked down Trúc Bạch Street, where the patient resided along with 66 households and 189 people. The quarantine was lifted on March 20 after no new cases were reported after testing.^[21] Imported cases from Europe motivated the government to intensify its border control measures, reducing international flights, suspending visa waiver for certain European countries.^[24][25]


When the Bạch Mai Hospital in Hanoi became a coronavirus hotspot with dozens of cases in late March, the authorities imposed a lockdown on the facility and tracked down nearly 100,000 people related to the hospital, including medics, patients, visitors and their close contacts.^[12]