#Vietnam has 268 #COVIDー19 cases, zero deaths and 223 recoveries.

This, in an emerging economy with a large land border with China.

In the new @KingsSSPP #WORLDwegotthis podcast, I spoke with @JimBaggaley about the lessons we can draw.

https://soundcloud.com/worldwegotthis/astateofinnovation

#Thread 1/5

1: the state as mobilizer and convenor: the Vietnamese state convened virologists early on, so that the development of local, affordable test kits could get underway. 2/5

https://www.globalpolicyjournal.com/blog/09/04/2020/testing-capacity-state-capacity-and-covid-19-testing with @idauusikyla and Ba-Linh Tran

2: The state established a shared mission early, and reiterates it daily. The use of media has been innovative and widespread, including daily text messages to all smart phone users and enlisting war-time style propaganda artists.

https://theconversation.com/vietnam-has-reported-no-coronavirus-deaths-how-136646 with Ba-Linh Tran 3/5

3: Innovating on top of existing technology: the government-funded and university researchers developed Vietnam’s affordable test kits by adapting #WHO and #CDC approaches. Testing, for example, only for #COVIDー19 rather than all coronaviruses. 4/5 https://www.kcl.ac.uk/state-capacity-and-covid-19-testing

4: finally, encouraging development by actors across government academies, private sector firms and universities.

The lessons from SARS were clear: take early action, communicate clearly, innovate frugally and collaborate widely in order to contain #COVIDー19. 5/5