Vietnam climbs 48 places in COVID-19 Recovery Index

Vietnam rises to 14th position

The COVID-19 Recovery Index assesses countries and territories in response to infection, COVID-19 vaccination deployment, and social mobility. The higher the rating, the closer that country and territory is to resilience. This index is characterized by low infection rates, low mortality, better vaccination coverage, and better movement restrictions.

Both Vietnam and the Philippines are at the bottom of the COVID-19 Recovery Index ranking for 2021. But according to May data, Vietnam is up 48 places to 14th place. The biggest improvement has been in content of strictness in regulations, after Vietnam allowed students to return to universities and businesses reopened. Nikkei noted, Vietnam is also the first country in Southeast Asia to waive all regulations on testing, vaccination and isolation for foreign tourists.

On May 24, Nikkei writer Lien Hoang wrote an article reflecting on an important milestone in Vietnam’s escape from the pandemic: Easier entry thanks to the return to travel rules before the COVID-19 outbreak. . Accordingly, returning to Vietnam from California, the US, this writer brought a certificate of vaccination against COVID-19, negative PCR test and a tracing application on a smartphone. However, the immigration officer at the airport did not see any of the above documents, but only asked this writer to take off the mask for a moment. Total passport control time is less than 1 minute. “Like every other flight that I took to Vietnam before the COVID-19 epidemic in 2020,” – Lien Hoang commented.

Vietnam stopped requiring test results on entry on May 15 – marking a step forward in easing COVID-19 prevention measures. “That means we can now enter Vietnam like we did before COVID-19 spread around the world. This is an achievement that is almost nowhere else in Asia can be achieved” – tree written by Nikkei praise. This policy change bodes well for travelers, supply chain managers and any other parties that rely on smooth cross-border traffic. “This is also a sign that the country is on the way out of the pandemic,” wrote Lien Hoang.

In the article about Vietnam’s promotion in the COVID-19 Recovery Index published on June 3, Nikkei also pointed out that, with more than 80% of the population fully vaccinated and 60% vaccinated with booster doses, Vietnam get 27/30 points for immunisation. The COVID-19 vaccine deployed in Vietnam as of May 8, includes 46% mRNA vaccine manufactured by Pfizer and Moderna, 28% virus vector vaccine from AstraZeneca and 23% regular vaccine from Chinese manufacturer Sinopharm. according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The Ministry of Health of Vietnam said that there are enough doses of COVID-19 vaccine to give the 3rd and 4th doses to eligible people aged 18 years and over.

Many positive results in Asia

Similar to Vietnam, the Philippines increased 40 places in the ranking, to 33rd place thanks to a decrease in COVID-19 infections. The number of daily COVID-19 cases in the country fell below 200 in the past week, with no deaths recorded. Since February, the Southeast Asian country has reopened its borders to fully vaccinated international travelers. This week, the Philippines also stopped requiring foreign travelers who have received a booster dose to present a negative COVID-19 test result upon entry.

According to the Philippine News Agency, daily visitor arrivals have recovered to about 15,000, although this is still far below the pre-pandemic peak of 45,000 recorded in 2019. Domestically, business activity is basically back and the government is encouraging all schools across the country to hold face-to-face learning from June.

According to the index just released by Nikkei, Cambodia and South Korea lead Asian countries, respectively, at 2nd and 8th in the Nikkei COVID-19 Recovery Index. Both Cambodia and South Korea are working on living with the virus and have high vaccination rates.

China rose one place to 93rd place. Its mobility score fell to a record low 4.5/30, the lowest of any other country as China is still rolling out mobile apps. restrictive measures to prevent disease outbreaks. The latest figures show that the number of passengers on public transport in 36 major cities in China has decreased by nearly 50% year-on-year in 2019.

Experts from the Economist Intelligence Unit say China’s “zero-COVID” policy is unlikely to end until after the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, scheduled to be held in November this year. This means that China’s borders will remain closed for the foreseeable future, slowing the recovery of the global tourism industry and the Asian market in particular.

However, China can play an important role in the tourism recovery in 2023. “We expect China to open its borders to international travel and tourism after the first quarter of 2023, helping to maintain maintain the momentum of international arrivals globally, EIU analyst Ejaz Ahmed said at the June 1 panel.

Meanwhile, according to newly released results, Taiwan (China) continues to decrease its rank in the COVID-19 Recovery Index ranking, to 113th place in the context that the island is dealing with an increase in the spread of the virus. infection and death from COVID-19.