Under the impact of the fierce new wave of COVID-19 epidemic, India and some Southeast Asian countries have suffered heavy losses. Now, Vietnam is also lost. In the past week, hundreds of people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in Vietnam every day. Judging from the numerical value alone, it seems that the epidemic is still under control. However, for Vietnam, the meaning of this number is very different. This is the first large-scale outbreak in Vietnam since the global outbreak of the new coronavirus in 2020. The epidemic is still spreading rapidly in northern Vietnam.
Zhou Shixin, an associate researcher at the Asia-Pacific Research Center of the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, said that in the new wave of epidemics, almost all Southeast Asian countries have fallen. Zhou Shixin said that Vietnam has introduced many strict measures and is nervous but not panicked, and the effects should be apparent soon. For Vietnam, the biggest concern during this round of epidemic is the impact on the economy. They are worried that the industrial chain will be lost due to the epidemic during the transfer to Vietnam.
Indoor commercial activities have been suspended and curfews have been implemented in some areas
According to the Ministry of Health of Vietnam, as of As of 6:00 on May 26, Vietnam had a total of 5,931 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 4,442 local cases and 1,489 imported cases.
On the evening of May 24, Chu Ngoc Anh, Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee, issued Emergency Notice No. 11, requiring all business service units to suspend operations starting from 12:00 on May 25. To ensure that epidemic prevention and control work is in place. Specifically, all restaurants and catering units in the city are not allowed to provide on-site dining (takeout or online ordering can be used); barber shops are also suspended. At the same time, mass gatherings such as physical exercise in parks, gardens and public places are prohibited.
Beining City, Guiwu County, Anfeng County, and Shuncheng County require people not to go out unless necessary after 20:00 every night. The above requirements were issued by Bac Ninh Provincial Vice Chairman Wang Guo Tuan on the 24th, aiming to prevent the spread of the epidemic to the greatest extent. You can only go out for purchasing daily necessities, first aid, performing official duties, night shift and evening shift (certification required from the company). The notice also emphasized the isolation between families and villages.
In addition, the epidemic situation in Bac Giang Province, Vietnam is also worrying. Recently, the Ministry of Health and Bac Giang Province jointly launched an operation to carry out large-scale COVID-19 testing in all industrial parks, factories and worker dormitories in Bac Giang Province and found a large number of confirmed cases. The Ministry of Health held an emergency meeting with the special working group guiding the epidemic prevention work in Bac Giang Province and the Bac Giang Provincial Health Department, requiring the special working group to immediately seal off the workers’ dormitories to ensure strict isolation, treat the workers’ dormitories as centralized isolation areas, and implement centralized isolation Regulation.
The next few weeks are a critical stage for Vietnam’s epidemic prevention
In 2020, Vietnam’s gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 2.91% year-on-year, making it one of the few economies in the world with positive growth that year. Kamal Malhotra, the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Vietnam, once said that Vietnam is one of the most successful countries in the world in responding to the pandemic.
Although Vietnam experienced relatively small peaks of the epidemic in August 2020 and February 2021, it was quickly brought under control and returned to normal. However, the wave of epidemic that broke out since the end of April this year is very different. It has quickly spread to 27 provinces and cities in Vietnam. The epidemic in Hanoi and the surrounding Bac Ninh and Bac Giang provinces is particularly serious.
Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister Vo Duc Dam requested at the Vietnam National Epidemic Prevention and Control Command Conference at the end of April: “Be prepared to deal with 30,000 people in Vietnam being infected with the new coronavirus. “In addition, he also requested that the management of isolation sites be strengthened, vaccine imports be strengthened, and Vietnam’s domestic vaccine development and production be accelerated.
Vietnam’s total population is about 96 million, and about 1 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in Vietnam, but only nearly 30,000 people have completed two doses of the vaccine.
Vietnam has almost completely closed its borders since March 2020. Only citizens and a small number of foreign experts are allowed to enter Vietnam, and they are required to be quarantined in hotels or designated places upon arrival.
Kidong Park, chief representative of the World Health Organization in Vietnam, said that against the backdrop of the complex and severe COVID-19 epidemic in Vietnam, Vietnam’s epidemic prevention and control will enter a critical stage in the next few weeks. stage.
The Vietnam Textile Association recommends that workers in the textile industry receive the COVID-19 vaccine as soon as possible
Vietnam’s “Customs Online” website reported on May 24, 2021 that in order to ensure the progress of Vietnam’s textile production and export, the Vietnam Textile Association (VITAS) recently recommended in writing that the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Health of Vietnam assist Vietnamese textile companies in purchasing and vaccinating the new crown vaccine on their own.
The Vietnam Textile Association pointed out that Vietnam’s textile industry employs more than 3 million people, and many companies have tens of thousands of workers. It is expected that exports will reach US$40 billion in 2021. Under the current complex situation of the COVID-19 epidemic, there are huge risks in factory operations and production.
If a company is suspended and quarantined for 14-21 days due to an epidemic, the annual production plan will almost be shattered. At present, many companies have export orders in hand, and even the orders are fully booked throughout the year. If they cannot complete the tasks on time, they may have to pay large amounts of liquidated damages or…��If orders are canceled, Vietnam’s textile industry may lose billions of dollars, companies face the risk of closing down and going bankrupt, and a large number of workers face the dilemma of unemployment and loss of their source of income. Therefore, the Vietnam Textile Association recommends that the government and the Ministry of Health give priority to vaccinating large textile companies with dense workers in the epidemic area. It also recommends that the government organize vaccine supplies through multiple parties and give priority to textile companies to promote vaccination as soon as possible through socialized purchasing.
It may affect the layout of the industrial chain
Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Zheng An official letter “On Ensuring the Safety of COVID-19 Prevention and Control in Industrial Zones” was issued on the 25th. The official letter pointed out that this round of epidemic spread in the industrial zones of Bac Giang and Bac Ninh provinces with high worker density, causing serious disruptions to the supply chain and production chain. Bac Giang Province temporarily closed four industrial parks in the province on May 18, three of which contain Hon Hai factories that mainly produce OEM products for Apple.
The “Notice on Further Strengthening the Prevention and Control of the New Coronavirus Epidemic” published on the official website of the Chinese Embassy in Vietnam on May 20 also stated: “Some Chinese-funded enterprises in Vietnam Local employees were diagnosed with the infection, industrial parks were closed, and factories were suspended, causing economic losses.”
Zhou Shixin said that for Vietnam, what is most worrying about this round of epidemic is the impact on the economy. In the process of transferring the industrial chain to Vietnam, the chain was lost due to the epidemic. He said that Vietnam’s industrial chain is relatively fragile and has little room for maneuver. It is even more difficult to recover after being hit. Once the imported industries leave, it will be difficult to come back in a short time.
According to a report by the US Consumer News and Business Channel (CNBC) on the 24th, Zhang, President and Chief Economist of Shanghai Baoyin Investment Management Co., Ltd. (referred to as “Baoyin Investment”) Zhiwei said in an interview that because of the surge in confirmed cases in India and Vietnam, the supply chain may return to China.
Previously, in view of the tense relations between China and the United States, some companies decided to move their supply chains out of China, shifting the production and distribution networks of products and services. Countries such as Vietnam and India have benefited from this, attracting a number of companies to set up factories in their countries.
“Before the epidemic, we saw factories moving out of China, and multinational companies such as Samsung and Foxconn began to build factories in Vietnam and India.” Zhang Zhiwei said on the CNBC program “Asian Road Sign” It said that the new crown epidemic has reappeared and the situation seems to be changing.
Recently, the number of confirmed cases in India and Vietnam has surged, forcing Foxconn to close its factories in India and Vietnam.
Zhang Zhiwei believes: “This may suspend the repositioning of the supply chain for quite some time. The key issue here is that international travel is suspended and multinational companies cannot send employees to India and Vietnam builds new factories.”
Zhang Zhiwei further said that this situation may be beneficial to China, but how much benefit China can get from it will depend on when the epidemics in India and Vietnam Get better.
He predicted that China’s exports are currently growing at 20% to 40% per month. If “(India and Vietnam’s) supply chains are disrupted for a long time,” China’s exports will grow by 20% to 20%. The 30% export growth will continue into next year; but if factories in both countries resume work soon, China’s exports are expected to slow down in the second half of this year. ”
The World Bank announced the Vietnam Macroeconomic Report for May 2020 on May 17. The World Bank warned that since the end of April 2021, an epidemic broke out in Vietnam, forcing the Vietnamese government to issue Measures such as closing schools and restricting the movement of people. These measures will have a serious impact on Vietnam’s domestic economic activities, especially in the fields of tourism, transportation and retail.
The World Bank recommends that Vietnam The government can consider launching a new fiscal stimulus package, including a large-scale economic stimulus package for people and businesses affected by the epidemic.</p
