Vietnam, the country that once contained the local transmission of the novel coronavirus for more than three months, has taken aggressive preventive measures as an essential strategy for the country’s adaption to “new normal”

Testing is one of Vietnam's key measures against Covid-19. Photo: FVhospital

Taking immediately preventive measures altogether in a decisive way has become the first and foremost approach enabling Vietnam to contain the virus and preventing widespread transmission, according to the Ministry of Health.

Local authorities need to get ready for different scenarios against Covid-19 to be proactive in any case though the coronavirus does not reemerge in their own localities, the ministry warned at a meeting Tuesday chaired by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

The ministry highlighted the importance of quick and active response in the face of uncertainty in the global health crisis and Vietnam’s dual goal of curbing the pandemic and keeping the economy afloat.

The health ministry said that it’s hard to impose anti-pandemic means at high alert like before, noting that the most challenging issue is people have fallen into a state of neglect in fighting against the infectious disease.

World Bank Acting Country Director for Vietnam Stefanie Stallmeister said “To adapt to the new normal, policymakers must find new ways to compensate for the weakening of the traditional drivers of growth while managing rising inequality.”

“However, by being ahead of the curve of the Covid-19 crisis, Vietnam has the unique opportunity to increase its footprint on the global economy and become a leader in tomorrow’s digital world,” he emphasized.

As of August 28, Vietnam’s coronavirus caseload reaches 1,035, including 632 recovered (61%) and 30 deaths. One third of the total infections are imported.

Since the resurgence of community transmission in the last week of July, Vietnam has intensified testing, conducting more than 517,000 tests, accounting for 54.3% of total reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests since the beginning of the pandemic in January 2020.

More than 70 health centers nationwide are capable of conducting tests, with a daily capacity of more than 34,000 units.