Sydney (VNA) – Australia’s news site 7news.com.au on April 13 postedan article which stressed that with its early decisive action, extensivetesting, vigorous quarantining and social unity, Vietnam has so far avoided thedevastation of the COVID-19 seen in Europe and the United States, despitesharing a border with China.

The article, writtenby Chris Humphrey and Bac Pham of the Australian Associated Press (AAP), saidthat with only several hundreds of infections, Vietnam’s response to the pandemic has been praised by the World Health Organisation.

It cited the country’sofficial statistics as saying that there are currently more than 75,000 peoplein quarantine. The country has so far conducted more than 121,000 tests, fromwhich over 260 cases were confirmed.

To date, there havebeen no virus-related deaths, and infection rates remain significantly lowerthan in the Republic of Korea, Singapore and even Taiwan which have all beenwidely praised in global media for their effective responses to the pandemic.

The article also quotedKidong Park, the WHO’s representative to Vietnam, as saying that the country’searly response to the crisis was critical. Its first risk assessment exercisewas conducted in early January - soon after cases in China started beingreported.

The country quicklyestablished a National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Controlunder the auspices of a Deputy Prime Minister which immediately implemented anational response plan.

Despite having a lownumber of confirmed cases, Vietnam has applied national social distancing from April 1, afar faster and more decisive response than that seen in Britain or Italy, wherecases ran into the many thousands before public life was shut down.

According to thearticle, much of Vietnam’s success can be ascribed to its social unity. PrimeMinister Nguyen Xuan Phuc recently described Vietnam’s efforts to contain thevirus as the “spring general offensive of 2020”.

Vietnamese schoolshave been closed since January, and mass quarantining began on March 16. Sincethen, tens of thousands of people entering the country from badly hit nationshave been put into compulsory quarantine in vast military-style camps. By March25, international flights ceased altogether.

There is no easingof these restrictions yet in sight. The vast majority of domestic flights,trains and buses have been halted, and anyone leaving Hanoi, which sees the largest number of infection cases in the country, is quarantined upon arrival in almost any other province.

At times Vietnameseresponses to the crisis have been severe, the article said, adding that officialsigns in Ho Chi Minh City warn that those not wearing a face mask who are foundto have infected another person with a dangerous disease could face up to 12years in prison.

Yet though thesestrict measures have so far translated into a relatively successful outcome, itremains to be seen whether Vietnam or other nations with similar responses areable to contain the spread of the virus in the long run, it added./.