February 14, 2020, by Vietnam Weekly
Yesterday, Vietnam's 16th Covid-19 infection was confirmed - a 50 year-old man in Vinh Phuc Province, which is just north of Hanoi. He is the father of one of the eight Vietnamese workers who returned to Vietnam from Wuhan on January 17, six of whom have tested positive for the virus. This group is at the center of a localized outbreak, as 11 of the 16 infections (including a 3 month-old baby) have occurred in Vinh Phuc. Another 252 people in the province are currently being monitored at home after coming into contact with infected individuals. (Overall, seven of the confirmed cases nationwide have been treated and released from the hospital.)
In response, authorities have locked down Son Loi Commune, where eight of Vinh Phuc's 11 cases have occurred, for 14 days, and aim to give out food and face masks to over 10,600 people in the area. I don't think this will be as severe as Wuhan's lockdown, and of course sealing off a fairly rural commune is far different from closing a city of 11 million, but this is a big step in Vietnam's efforts to combat further infections.
And last night, out of the blue, Saigon's health department announced that 2,521 people (!) are currently under home quarantine in the city after transiting through infected areas before arriving here. None of these individuals are showing symptoms of being sick, which is good, but I definitely shouted something when I read that headline. A further 37 people are isolated in "designated areas," while each of Saigon's 24 districts is working to set up their own quarantine area.
Also in Saigon, officials opened the first of two planned field hospitals aimed at fighting the outbreak, though no new cases have been reported in the city this week. Tan Son Nhat International Airport has also turned away 286 people since January 30 because they had stayed in, or transited through, China before arriving.
Meanwhile, on Monday morning, 30 Vietnamese nationals who had been stuck in Wuhan arrived at Van Don International Airport in Quang Ninh Province on a chartered Vietnam Airlines flight. They were then taken to a hospital in Hanoi for monitoring and quarantine.
As the outbreak rolls on, Vietnam is starting to feel more economic pain as well. Vietnam Airlines says it is losing US$10.8 million a week, while the tourism sector could see losses of US$7.7 billion overall, and GDP growth for the year could fall to its lowest in seven years. The Ministry of Planning and Investment is already calling for a stimulus package to help businesses hurt by the slowdown.
Over 500 container trucks carrying agricultural produce are stuck at the Chinese border as well, which is really hurting Vietnamese farmers, while efforts to help watermelon farmers who can't get their products into China even saw the Qatari Embassy in Hanoi get involved. Hundreds of tons of shrimp intended for China have also been placed in frozen storage since trade is halted.
Moving forward, schools are expected to re-open in Saigon on Monday, though an official decision is expected today. The lack of further cases outside of Vinh Phuc still surprises me, and there hasn't been follow-up on quarantined groups in places like Khanh Hoa and Lang Son, but hopefully it really has been contained to that area.
Finally, in what might be the next cruise ship from hell, officials in Quang Ninh Province didn't allow the Aida Vita from docking in Ha Long Bay. The ship, with 1,100 passengers on board, left Bali on January 17 and (I'm quoting VnExpress here) the "passengers were 95 percent German, with no Asian tourists on board." Yeesh. The ship is scheduled to visit Da Nang and Saigon as well, though I doubt that will happen. I hear Sihanoukville is nice!
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