Why Not Do What Works?

  • Business as usual when usual threatens to wipe out livelihoods, cultures and civilizations is just plain stupid. Vietnam, a nation of 90-something million people, has yet to have its first death from SARS-CoV2.
  • Look what Zog do!

Vietnam. The country of 97 million people has not reported a single coronavirus-related death and on Saturday had just 328 confirmed cases, despite its long border with China and the millions of Chinese visitors it receives each year.

This is all the more remarkable considering Vietnam is a low-middle income country with a much less-advanced healthcare system than others in the region. It only has 8 doctors for every 10,000 people, a third of the ratio in South Korea, according to the World Bank.

After a three-week nationwide lockdown, Vietnam lifted social distancing rules in late April. It hasn’t reported any local infections for more than 40 days. Businesses and schools have reopened, and life is gradually returning to normal.

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fred
fred

Fred First holds masters degrees in Vertebrate Zoology and physical therapy, and has been a biology teacher and physical therapist by profession. He moved to southwest Virginia in 1975 and to Floyd County in 1997. He maintains a daily photo-blog, broadcasts essays on the Roanoke NPR station, and contributes regular columns for the Floyd Press and Roanoke's Star Sentinel. His two non-fiction books, Slow Road Home and his recent What We Hold in Our Hands, celebrate the riches that we possess in our families and communities, our natural bounty, social capital and Appalachian cultures old and new. He has served on the Jacksonville Center Board of Directors and is newly active in the Sustain Floyd organization. He lives in northeastern Floyd County on the headwaters of the Roanoke River.

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  1. Fred, I respect your scientific approach. I know you wouldn’t post something that wasn’t true. What happened in Vietnam is remarkable. I know nothing about the integrity of their communist government, but obviously there is high level of trust. That isn’t present in many democratic countries, with good reason. Our record in Canada regarding corona virus outcomes is commendable, but not perfect. It’s a good thing, sometimes, to question government, but in this case, has worked against us.