European media praises Vietnam’s COVID-19 fight

* UK-based Telegraph in an article published on April 23 called Vietnam “an under-reported success story of the pandemic”, given that, at that time, the country had reported just 268 cases and zero deaths.

It highlighted the Vietnamese strategy, stating that it has managed to keep COVID-19 under control by focusing on a combination of rigorous, targeted contact-tracing and testing to swiftly contain small clusters of the COVID-19 before they can spread further.

The newspaper also hailed Vietnam’s massive public information campaign on the pandemic, including the hand-washing song "Ghen Co Vy" that went viral globally.

* Meanwhile, French daily Les Echos noted that Vietnam is “an exception” and hardly any country can do better.

It assessed that Vietnam's winning strategy is based on early awareness of the threat and strict isolation of infected people.

Vietnamese leaders have chosen a "low-cost" strategy which carries out rapid identification and mandatory quarantine of infected people, as well as tracking of their contacts.

* On April 24, Austrian daily newspaper Der Standard ran an article noting that with zero deaths and only two new cases in eleven days, Vietnam has become a model in the prevention and control of COVID-19.

The article emphasised that Vietnam, a developing country with limited resources, has effectively controlled the epidemic through low-cost measures and does not require the application of expensive treatment technology.

The key to Vietnam's success was the Government 's very early response, since the information on the disease in China had not been clearly verified, and the spirit of the people in seriously implementing responsive measures.

It concluded that the Vietnam's COVID-19 prevention and control model is worthy of being researched in other countries, including developed countries, in the context that the disease has not been completely controlled yet.

* In the spirit of solidarity and sharing with Russian people in repelling COVID-19, the Vietnamese community in Irkutsk City, Russia, has donated 4,000 cloth face masks to a local voluntary campaign in support of the fight against the epidemic.

The campaign aims to support senior citizens, people with disabilities and medical workers in the wake of the global pandemic. It has drawn the participation of 2,000 volunteers in Irkutsk, a city which hosts about 250 Vietnamese citizens.

The Vietnamese community’s noble act was broadcast on the city's Vesti Irkutsk TV channel.

* The Ambassadors of Russia and Chile have spoken highly of Vietnam’s effective model and experience in fighting the COVID-19 epidemic.

Russian Ambassador Konstantin Vnukov noted Vietnam’s motto of “fighting epidemic like fighting an enemy”, and stressed that the unanimity and support of the people, the observance of prevention measures, and an enhanced sense of responsibility have produced the positive outcomes and proud achievements at present.

Chilean Ambassador Jaime Chomali said Vietnam’s efforts had produced persuasive outcomes. Therefore, the Chilean Embassy has studied Vietnam’s experience in COVID-19 prevention and control in order to report to its government. He also expressed a belief that Vietnam would see a more rapid and early economic recovery than other countries in the region next year.