After more than a year of successfully keeping the Covid virus out of Vietnam, the country is facing a difficult period with a recent outbreak. From January 2020 till early May 2021 Vietnam only had about 2,500 infections in total and only 35 deaths. Unfortunately, from Mid-May, Vietnam is facing the most serious outbreak covid so far, with about 100-200 cases per day. Numbers which in Europe would be a signal that the crisis is over, but for Vietnam these numbers are alarming. With a population of 100 mln people, living in densely populated areas with often three generations in one household, the government and the Vietnamese are trying very hard to get covid under control and to bring back the cases back to zero.
While most rich countries are having their populations vaccinated, for countries like Vietnam, vaccines will only become available after the rich countries have vaccinated their populations first. So far Vietnam received about 2.5 mln vaccines through the WHO COVAX program, which Vietnam so far mostly used to vaccinate the people working in the health and hospital sector.
Until the vaccines become available in large numbers for Vietnam, the main control strategy is “social distancing”, “testing and tracing” and following strict quarantine rules. If in a certain building or in a street, someone is diagnosed with covid, immediately the whole building or the complete street is quarantined, and everyone living in the area will be tested. On average for every person diagnosed with covid, about 1,000 people will go into quarantine.
For those who get quarantined in their street or building, they will depend on their family, relatives or online shops to get their food. Because so many people suddenly start to order their groceries online, the web shops and supermarkets struggle to meet this demand. For poorer people, online shopping is not an option, and they struggle in their access to food.
Everywhere in Ho Chi Minh City and in cities like Can Tho, private initiatives have started to setup market stalls, close to the quarantined areas, with free food. These stalls are called “Cho 0 Dong” , which means “Zero Vietnam Dong markets”.
Vietnam’s leading fruit company, The Fruit Republic, is supporting these wonderful initiatives by delivering citrus fruits for “Zero Vietnam Dong” (free). Every day the delivery teams of The Fruit Republic, transport citrus fruit like lime to many “Cho 0 Dong” stalls in HCMC and Can Tho. Also, daily deliveries are done to grassroot organizations like the “Vietnam’s Women Union”, and to the local governmental “People Committees”, who are distributing food to poor households. With its high vitamin C content, citrus fruits like lime, can help people with strengthening their immune system.
TFR staff preparing to deliver free Vitamin
TFR start to bring Free Vitamin -lime to quarantine area Vi
TFR delivery team on their way
TFR delivery team driving through the now quite streets in HCMC
Bring limes to Quarantined area in HCMC
Delivered the free citrus fruits to quarantined streets and buildings
HCMC citizins in quarantined streets receiving free fruit and vegetables
Bringing to the Women's Union
Delivering to the Women's Union in HCMC
Free F&V for citizins and quarantined area -Go Vap district HCMC
Office in People committee receiving limes to make free food bag to poor people
Truck of the Womens Union to distribute free fruit and veggy
Poor lady receive lime and veggy
