Vietnam falls to bottom of Bloomberg Covid resilience ranking

The country now ranks 53rd in the rankings, described by Bloomberg as a “monthly snapshot of where the virus is being handled the most effectively with the least social and economic upheaval.”

Vietnam was last in December “after its export-dependent economy was slammed by outbreaks causing factory shutdowns during the peak holiday production season.”

It was down two places from November as its resilience score dropped from 45.3 to 43.3. A year earlier, it ranked 10th with a score of 74.3.

The rankings measure 53 economies using 12 indicators with data reported until Dec. 21 to evaluate their virus containment, healthcare quality, vaccination coverage, overall mortality, and progress toward restarting travel.

In ‘lockdown severity,’ Vietnam scored 67 out of 100. A high score indicates social and economic activities are tightly restricted by government policies and guidance, and people are experiencing greater disruption to their lives.

Sweden achieved the best score of 19 in this category, while Germany performed worst with a score of 84.

In ‘community mobility,’ which means movement of people to offices and retail spaces compared to a pre-pandemic baseline, Vietnam recorded a 27.9 percent decrease.

Vietnam had a test positivity rate of 16.8 percent while South Africa had the highest rate at 31.1 percent. The best rate, zero, was scored by the UAE and Hong Kong.

Eight months ago Vietnam was hit by the fourth wave, the most virulent since the pandemic began in early 2020.

It forced the nation’s economic hub, Ho Chi Minh City, to go into lockdown for four months from late May. Its neighbors, Binh Duong, Dong Nai and Long An provinces, also major industrial hubs, were also among those hit hardest and forced into prolonged social distancing.

GDP fell by 6.17 percent year-on-year in the third quarter, the first ever contraction since quarterly GDP figures began to be computed in 2000. In the first nine months growth was 1.42 percent.

In October the Ministry of Planning and Investment forecast growth for the full-year would be 3-3.5 percent, down 0.5 percentage points from its earlier forecast in September.

Vietnam started resuming socio-economic activities on Oct. 1, but with the number of cases and deaths still on the rise, the government has decided no activity involving large gatherings will be allowed during the New Year and Tet (Lunar New Year) holidays.

In the fourth wave, the country of 96 million has recorded more than 1.59 million infections and almost 30,500 deaths.

Around 76.5 million have received at least one Covid-19 vaccine, 64.1 million have got two, and over 1.7 million have also got a third.

The Bloomberg ranking put Chile at the top with an overall score of 74.1 followed by Ireland with 72.9.

Southeast Asia continued to dominate the bottom, with Malaysia at 47th, the Philippines at 50th and Indonesia at 51st.