Covid-19 poll: Only 13 pct of Vietnamese say government not doing enough

Sixty two percent of Vietnamese said their government was doing the "right amount" in response to the outbreak, the survey by Germany’s Dalia Research found.

The survey, done between March 23 and 27, asked 32,631 respondents in 45 countries and territories around the world about their perception of their governments’ reaction to the epidemic.

Thirteen percent of Vietnamese said their government was doing "too little" while 25 percent said "too much."

Globally, 43 percent of respondents said their government was doing "too little" in response to the pandemic which has spread to 203 countries and territories and claimed more than 47,000 lives.

Two fifths of the global population believed their government was doing the "right amount."

China and Italy, hit hardest by the pandemic, fared well in this survey, with 56 percent of people in China saying their government was doing the right amount, and 49 percent in Italy.

Thailand had the lowest approval rating, with 79 percent of respondents saying the government has been doing "too little."

As the number of infections in Vietnam began to rise again on March 6 after 22 straight days with no new cases, the government has been taking unprecedented actions to contain the spread.

From April 1 Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has imposed a 15-day nationwide social distancing campaign, banning gatherings of more than two people and asking people not to leave their homes.

The government also suspended all inbound international flights and halted road transport services until April 15 to limit travel in the country of 94 million people.

It has also shut down all "non-essential" services until April 15 and closed its borders with neighboring countries Cambodia, China and Laos.

It declared Covid-19 a national epidemic on Wednesday afternoon when the infection tally reached 212.

Many of the active cases are people, both Vietnamese and foreigners, coming from Europe and the U.S., and others who came into contact with them.

As of Thursday, the number of infections in the country has gone up to 222, including 64 who have recovered and been discharged from hospital.