Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has called for ASEAN’s flexible adaptation to and effective control of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at the 38th and 39th ASEAN Summits open on Oct 26.

His suggestion is in line with one of the two focal points that he suggested at the 38th and 39th ASEAN Summits and Related Summits held on Oct 26-28.

In the speech delivered today [Oct 26], Chinh said ASEAN needs to spare no effort to contain the virus and adapt to the pandemic situation together with positioning ASEAN in the world that has been reshaped.

“No citizen is safe while others infected with Covid-19, no country is safe when other countries still grapple with the Covid-19 epidemic,” Chinh noted.

He said it’s time for ASEAN to switch to the new Covid-19 response strategy that is flexible to effectively stamp out the virus along with speeding up recovery plans.

For that reason, ASEAN needs to improve the effectiveness of coordination mechanisms, the capacity of the health system, be proactive about vaccines and therapeutic drugs, and raise people’s awareness of the safety measures.

“As one of ASEAN countries that are promoting research and development of vaccines, Vietnam suggested tech transfer in vaccine and Covid drugs production and forming the regional supply chain,” said the PM.

He stressed the importance of the ASEAN Travel Corridor Arrangement Framework, stating that the Government of Vietnam approved criteria on vaccine passports and exchange Covid vaccination certificates on a mutual basis.

Vietnam is willing to exchange vaccine passports among 10 ASEAN member states, the Vietnamese PM affirmed.

So far, Vietnam has approved vaccine passports from 72 countries and negotiated with 82 other nations.

At the meeting, the PM announced medical supplies worth millions of dollars that Vietnam pledged to contribute to the ASEAN Regional Reserve of Medical Supplies (RRMS) that are ready to ship to countries when needed.

The regional countries agreed that ASEAN should resume the supply chains, remove trade barriers, and have recovery plans for different industries, including tourism.

Vietnam has switched to flexible adaptation to Covid-19 with focuses on the healthcare system to mitigate fatalities in case of widespread transmission and reopening the economy.

Under the new approach, Vietnam will step up efforts to test for the virus in high-risk areas. There will also be a progressive lifting of restrictions imposed during lockdowns to resume normal life and to kick-start economic activity. There will still be regulations in place concerning wearing masks, social distancing, and the resumption of schools and activities involving large numbers of people.