Tag Archives: wuhan

It feels as if a storm is menacingly brewing just beyond Vietnam. Hanoi prepares for its arrival, though hoping that it will bypass the region altogether. The streets are emptier and quieter. Temples have been told to close to preempt crowds. The ministry of health sends regular texts reminding people to wash hands, don face masks, and report to local authorities if feverish. It’s a social faux pas to go mask-less in public. Schools have been closed for a week now.

The virus’ potential for destruction does not, as with typhoons, depend on strong, swirling winds, but rather the movement patterns of its human hosts and the splattering trajectories of saliva. The severity of coronavirus has been exacerbated by humans in another way: as detailed in the NY Times, by a government that at first denied coronavirus’ existence. The Chinese government withheld information about it’s idiosyncratic form of pneumonia and potential severity. The secrecy allowed the virus to spread and infect unimpeded, by the time willful ignorance was no longer viable, extreme, draconian measures had to be put in place. And panic filled the vacuum of information.

There is no panic at the moment in Hanoi, a city always in uncomfortable proximity to China. Face masks and hand sanitizer are scarce, but still available for purchase. As of this writing, there have only been 13 reported cases in all of Vietnam–most likely an underestimation, but relatively low none the less. Officials have taken preventive and preparatory measures, and it feels as if the virus will arrive en masse at any moment. The military has been called in. Quarantine facilities are being outfitted and hospitals are being built on the fly. School closure has been extended. At this point, either there’s information, yet to be released to the public, that the spread of virus in VN will get much worse, or there is extreme caution and over-preparation as a preventive measure. This will have to break either way sooner or later, and we’re waiting to see which way.