Envoy lauds Vietnam’s COVID-19 response, says no reported infections among Pinoys

There has been no reported infections among Filipinos living in Vietnam since the COVID-19 pandemic hit the country in January, the Philippine Embassy in Hanoi said Friday.

“Sa awa ng Diyos, walang Pilipino ang nahawaan ng COVID-19,” Chargé d' Affaires Paul Vincent Uy said in a televised briefing.

Uy credited Vietnam’s prevention strategy, which included closing the border with China, where the virus was first detected last December, strict quarantine policies and aggressive contact tracing.

Vietnam has so far reported only 328 cases and zero deaths.

“Vietnam has effectively and quickly controlled the spread [of the virus],” he said.

The pandemic, however, has affected the livelihoods of some Filipinos in Vietnam, Uy said. He said the Filipino workers displaced by the pandemic included those under no work, no pay arrangement and those employed by shuttered businesses.

“Kahit na walang Pilipino ang nahawaan sa Vietnam, ang ating embahada ay patuloy na tumutulong sa ating mga kababayan na naapektuhan ng COVID-19 pandemic,” he said.

Last April, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) brought home 143 distressed Filipinos from Vietnam.

Several of the repatriates were stranded in Vietnam due to flight cancellations while most were adversely affected by the economic downturn brought about by the pandemic, the DFA said.

Uy said the embassy has also provided shelter, food and cash assistance to distressed Filipinos. — RSJ, GMA News