Lockdown extended in Vietnam and more regulations introduced.

After a year of experiencing very little in the way of restrictions that it seems most of the rest of the world was experiencing, Vietnam recently had a reemergence of Covid cases that 2 weeks ago resulted in the lockdown of certain parts of the country. I cannot speak on behalf of the other parts of this country, but where I live in Da Nang and also where some friends of mine reside in both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, the lockdowns are in full effect.

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It all started for us in Da Nang around 16 days ago when a single solitary case was found in a man that checked himself into hospital by his own decision. After following his trail of where he had been in the past few days a few more cases were found and the choice was made by the powers that be that the entire city was going to go into lockdown again.

Unlike the rest of the world (or at least most of it) the restrictions have been very mild here and I guess, upon reflection, we kind of had it coming. We all know this virus is easily transmitted and even though most people have very little if any reaction to it, the ability for the virus to spread quickly and in a widespread fashion is well-documented - or at least from what the official sources say, that is what we have been told.

Certain parts of the city were immediately quarantined and just like when this happened last time, certain businesses were shut down. Initially it was bars, massage parlors, and snooker halls, but just a few days later this extended to all restaurants as well. Since then we have been on a take-out and delivery basis only for all restaurants.

Today is Monday in my part of the world, and it was the 2-week point after the cases were discovered. There have been no additional individuals that have tested positive for Covid since then so those of us that live here we were hopeful that the restrictions which include what I already mentioned as well as the closing of public spaces such as parks and the beach areas, would be phased back a bit but instead we woke up today with this notification.

In the event that you don't know what Grab is, it is a major transportation company that is like Uber and also is involved in the transport of other goods and also delivery for restaurants. As of this morning, Monday the 17th of May, all Grab services and other taxis are completely shut down as was the rest of all public transport. It is rumored but not yet confirmed by any sort of official source that these services will remain shut down until all the people involved in it can be tested and confirmed negative for Covid.

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One part of me appreciates the diligence of the authorities here as far as all of this is concerned and the other part of me feels as though they might be taking things a bit too far. There have been ZERO new cases in Da Nang despite widespread testing and I feel as though they are over-reacting. At the same time I am not going to protest because as I have mentioned many times before, the Vietnamese government has been extremely accommodating as far as the life of an expat is concerned. I am already many months over on my initial one-year visa and I have not been hassled about this at all, nor have I been forced, or even encouraged to leave because I am not a Vietnamese citizen.

In the meantime we have to get takeaway food by walking or biking to the place that sells it or you know, you could always get reacquainted with your own kitchen and cook for yourself like a real grown-up.

I have been a bit arrogant in the past about how when "all of you" were locked down we were free to roam about as if nothing had ever happened to the world and now I am starting to see the reverse happen and I will take this one as it comes. I will just trust the authorities know what they are doing, not because I actually believe that, but because I am a guest here and my opinion really doesn't matter.

So at least for now it looks like we are going to get at least another week of limited travel, masks all the time, and closed public spaces. Perhaps it is time for me to work on learning the language from Duo-Lingo or something along those lines.

I hope that those of you not in Vietnam are starting to see some easing in restrictions in your own countries perhaps on the level that I have been experiencing for the past year.