Vietnam has reported zero deaths from the coronavirus pandemic, citing rapid and broad testing as one of its solutions for keeping the spread to a minimum.
So far, the country of 96 million people has only reported 270 cases of the virus and has tested 213,743 people, according to Reuters.
Public health experts said the low rate of cases could be attributed to quick decisions to restrict travel into the country, coupled with secure quarantine directives as well as testing and tracing methods to pinpoint known carriers of the virus.
In late March, all domestic flights were banned within the country. The country has been locked down since April 1, and a state-run media agency said stay-at-home orders would be extended for at least one more week.
Vietnam also raised the number of testing laboratories by exponential amounts, from three in January to 112 in April.
The country has tested 791 people for every confirmed case, a ratio that beats out Taiwan, which conducted 140 tests for every infection.
Some speculation has been raised about the accuracy of the Vietnamese government’s testing data.
However, officials from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the numbers could be trusted, according to a report from NPR.
John MacArthur, a CDC representative in the neighboring country Thailand, said, “Our team up in Hanoi is working very, very closely with their Ministry of Health counterparts.”
He added, “The communications I’ve had with my Vietnam team is that at this point in time, [they] don’t have any indication that those numbers are false.”
Source: The Hill
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