As at 1st of April 2020, The Vietnam’s Ministry of Health confirmed a total of 207 cases of COVID-19 and 56 of the affected patients have recovered. Hanoi is the most contagious place with 86 confirmed cases, Ho Chi Minh City is following with 49 confirmed cases.
Since February, the Vietnamese government has issued the quarantine policies and restrictions to limit the spread of the virus.
Quarantine consists of four rounds: the confirmed case (F0) at hospital; suspected case who contact directly with F0 (F1) at local health facilities; person who contact with F1 (F2) and enter in Vietnam from virus outbreak areas or since March of 21st at compulsory focus isolation places; person who contact with F2 at home. The minimum duration of quarantine is 14 days.
The Vietnamese government has just decided to implement the nationwide social quarantine from 00.00 on April of 1st 2020 for 15 days, of which:
- Ban the gathering of more than 2 people in public places;
- Ban any meeting gathering over 20 people, top meeting in groups of more than 10 Outdoor workplaces, schools and hospitals;
- Suspension of all religious, cultural, recreational, sporting events;
- Closure of all non-essential services, except factories, banks, oil and gas stations, places and services that provide food and medicine and health facilities for citizens’ essential demands;
- All public offices and agencies apply technologies to work from home; citizen must stay at home, just leave your homes for absolute necessities like buy foods and medicines;
- Cut off all international flights from/to Vietnam until April of 15th 2020 exception for cases got government’s permission; maintain only 1-2 domestic flights per day between Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang;
- Stop visa issuance and entry in Vietnam for foreign visitors, a few of international flight to bring foreign visitors back to their countries are allowed; with new effected measure on April of 1st all international flights are banned that means stop entry also for Vietnamese;
- Temporarily shut down the roadways transportation like intercity bus, coach, taxi and city bus nationwide;
- Maintain two passenger carriages of train and the rest is for goods only.
Other measures and restrictions:
- Required face masks wearing in public places;
- Respect a distance of 2 meters between people;
- Installation of 10 field stations for quick test of virus in Hanoi and in operation from March of 31st.
Supporting policies:
- For employers:
- Launching a credit supporting package of VND 250,000 billion with the decreasing of loan interest of 0.5 – 1.5% per year and offer to enterprises impacted by covid 19;
- Extension of tax payment deadline, exemption of late payment interest and fee;
- Temporarily closing the mandatory contribution of pension and survivorship into social insurance fund until June 2020;
- Fining only for late social insurance contribution occurred before December of 31st
- For employees:
- The contracted workers get retrenched, required unpaid leaves and reduced income will be received an allowance of VND 3,600,000 equivalent to one minimum salary per month in April, May and June. The government and the companies will be responsible to pay respectively 50% and 50%.
- The poor will be predicted to receive an allowance of VND 1,000,000 per month.
- A part of social protection and merited people can be received an allowance of VND 500,000 per month;
- Individual business households have to temporarily closed due to covid 19 will be supported an amount of VND 1,000,000 per month;
Source: vpcp.chinhphu.vn; tuoitre.vn; vnexpress.net; luatvietnam.vn