THREAD:

Update on the situation in Vietnam:

This second outbreak has definitely been worse than the first.

New strain is 3x more contagious than the first strain here, on par with the strains now in the USA.

Peaked at 50 new cases last week, with 19 yesterday.

These 5 patients were announced completely recovered yesterday in Da Nang.

Still a small enough outbreak that every recovered patient gets a release ceremony...

But a big enough outbreak that the government and the people are taking it even more seriously this time. Almost all businesses are shut down except grocery stores. Streets are mostly empty. EVERYONE wears a mask.

Quarantine zones and checkpoints checking temperatures and asking people not to leave wards for unnecessary reasons. Streets where cases are found are being completely locked down. The routes of my morning bicycle rides have been getting more restricted but it sure beats COVID.

Wards are issuing stamp books to local markets. Each family can visit the local market 5x per week. Temperatures are being checked at all markets by college student youth league members.

All restaurants and food deliveries have been shut down for three weeks now. Luna and I have been eating well. I've been upping my sandwich game with more local ingredients.

What strikes me the most is how as the number of cases have been dropping the government and people have been increasingly cautious.

NONE OF US want this to last much longer. Pretty much everyone is taking it seriously because we all want things to go back to normal.

My personal takeaway: Vietnam continues to prove to be a world leader in disease containment through collectivist culture and socialist policy. Perhaps too soon to tell but I believe we will get through this quickly and be even better prepared for the next inevitable outbreak.