30 April 2020, NIICE Commentary 4397
Dr. Tridib Chakraborti
In the domain of world history, sudden unforeseen events, like natural disasters, economic collapses, pandemics, wars, famines, terrorist attacks, etc. have drastic changes on our day to day lives, thereby leading to socio-economic and political changes that are difficult to predict beforehand. However, the current COVID-19 pandemic, remains by far the most tragic event to be experienced by this generation. It is an amalgamation of a natural disaster and an economic recession, which has pressurised public healthcare to the extent that our very existence on this planet is challenged. The pandemic has significantly disrupted various sectors of world economy, including oil and gas, automobiles, aviation, agriculture, retail, education, administration, and so on, and hardly any sector has been left unaffected. The reactions and initiatives of all the countries in the globe are brute and vociferous, however, anticipating the acute forthcoming pandemic, some countries initiated to tackle this issue from the very inception of the virus.
So far, almost all countries in the world are trying hard to fight against the epidemic. The death toll all over the globe is rapidly increasing each day. The death toll figures as of 30 April crossed 228 thousand, indicate that the highest number of deaths have occurred in the developed world, such as in the US and the European nations. While comparing the above-mentioned countries, many countries in Asia and Africa are less affected on account of them taking the right actions in the right time. Vietnam can be exhibited as a rare example in the current global turmoil. How Vietnam has handled this epidemic so skillfully remains a widely-discussed question today.
Studying the Pages of History
When Ho Chi Minh was the president of Vietnam in 1965, he constantly educated officers and the people to engage in patriotic emulation while fighting, in production, during work and in education. Emulation was a part and parcel of his working process and leadership style. He initiated the idea of emulation in fighting against the invader, in dealing with a famine, in liquidating illiteracy, and so on. In a speech on 12 March, 1965, at the 7th meeting of the Central Committee of the Vietnamese Workers’ Party, Minh said: “Emulation for all the people, emulation for all branches, emulation every day. In that way we shall win and the enemy will be defeated.” He felt that emulation will lead to national liberation, social transformation, the building of a new Vietnam, of a new society, the transformation of man, and the fostering and forging of a new man – the “socialist man”. A similar inspiring oath was expressed by the present Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc recently when he was describing Vietnam’s efforts to contain the virus as the “Spring General Offensive of 2020” – a deliberate reference to the crucial 1968 Tet Offensive carried out by the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War. He ascribed much of Vietnam’s current success to the country’s social unity.
Trials to Counter the Coronavirus Epidemic
Today, Vietnam is the talk of the town everywhere, being a country with a high population but with a very low number of COVID-19 cases. A report states that only 268 people were contaminated with the virus, out of nearly 100 million people, among whom 224 are already completely healed. The death toll is at Zero. The Vietnamese government has crowned its own citizens for maintaining law and order, and working responsibly in the time of crisis. However, it has taken certain strict measures to overcome the COVID-19 epidemic. They are as follows:
First: The Vietnamese are very concerned about their cleanliness. In spite of having multiple grocery and meat shops for the meat of various animals, Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, is strictly meant to be very clean.
Second: Spitting on the street is forbidden and the citizens are strict in abstaining from doing so.
Thirdly: Extensive cleaning of market places to remove any trace of waste left behind.
Fourth: Vietnamese people have to follow orders of the government in every circumstance.
Fifth: Early in the month of January 2020, the Vietnam government set up a proper isolation camp for necessary treatment to cure Coronavirus-infected people. It also established a special hospital and a quarantine centre in a duration of 11 days.
Sixth: Unlike other nations who had set up the quarantine centres in cities or towns, Vietnam set them up in the airport premises and made it mandatory for every foreign or domestic traveler coming into the country from outside to spend 14 days in the quarantine facility.
Seventh: The Vietnam government assigned distinct colour codes for each state to differentiate the COVID-19 contamination risk.
Eighth: Doctors and nurses were asked to get a regular check-up every 2 days by the Government, even though they had been provided with special suits and equipment to cover their entire body.
Ninth: Foreigners who had checked into the country during the duration of late February to present are being asked to show their medical report in every hotel and other public places.
Tenth: Trading of packaged food from other nations is strictly forbidden and the nation’s people were suggested to use disposable material to avoid reuse of products.
Finally, social distancing had been the prime concern, which the government has taken special care of, specifically in the market places.
Thus, Vietnam’s response to this outbreak was early, and rather proactive. Its first risk assessment exercise was conducted in early January 2020, soon after it heard of the infections in Wuhan. In fact, Vietnam government’s early decisive action, extensive testing, vigorous quarantining and social unity, led it to avoid the damage that unravelled in some of the European countries. and the US. A National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control was established on an emergency basis under the auspices of the administration, to prevent a national crisis. Despite having a low number of confirmed cases, Vietnam entered nationwide lockdown on April 1, a far faster and more decisive response than any other country. Vietnamese schools have been closed since January, and mass quarantining began on 16 March 2020. Since then, tens of thousands of people entering the country from badly hit nations have been put into compulsory quarantine in vast military-style camps. By March 25, international flight services were ceased all-together. There is no visible easing of these restrictions as yet. A vast majority of domestic flights, trains and buses have been halted, and anyone leaving Hanoi, the epicentre of Vietnam’s outbreak, is quarantined upon arrival in another city. In fact, its 2003 SARS experience has given it the necessary dividend to handle the present crisis more skillfully. Vietnam’s response to the crisis has earned praise from the World Health Organization (WHO). In fact, the official statistics clearly exhibit that there are currently more than 75,000 people in quarantine or isolation. The country has so far conducted more than 121,000 tests, of which only 260 cases came out to be positive.
A recent debate revolving around the future of “culture” in the post-COVID world. Michele Gelfand, a cultural psychologist in her book, “Rule Makers, Rule Breakers: How Tight and Loose Cultures Wire Our World,” clearly highlights that ‘diversity in the way we think and act derives from a key difference – how tightly or loosely we adhere to social norms’. If we carefully study a country, a state, a city, a workplace or even a family, we will realise how tight and loose cultures shape our entire lives and play a big role in the decisions we make, mentions Gelfand. Interestingly enough, with reference to the handling of the COVID-19 epidemic, the result of loose cultures appears less effective than the tighter ones. The case of Vietnam thoroughly demonstrates that a tight culture is more effective in handling severe crises. This analysis leaves us with a critical question: Is a communist dictatorship more capable than a democracy in tackling crises like the Coronavirus Pandemic, or is this Pandemic a chance to reshape the core concepts of democracy and governance globally?
