Here in Vietnam the lack of the virus spreading has always remained a mystery to me in that I didn't see how it was possible that this virus was running wild all over the rest of the world but the relatively poor country with less-than-top-notch health care was managing the pandemic better than almost all of the rest of the world - or so it would appear.
We managed this all without being locked down a great deal, and even during the 1 time that we were locked down it wasn't anywhere near as extreme as some of the rules that I heard about in USA and Canada where they were kicking down doors to break up Grandma's Christmas dinner or anything like that.
We have had near absolute freedom for all but 3 weeks since the pandemic started, and even when we were locked down coast to err, the borders with other countries, we could still do stuff, you just had to be masked. This was for a mere 3 weeks too so basically as long as you didn't need to leave the country outside of those 3 weeks, life has been the same as it always was here in Vietnam.
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This isn't some tiny remote village I live in either, there are over a million people here
Now for people in the super metropolitan areas of Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi this was a different story: Those guys got locked down in a much more hardcore sense but even in these situations it wasn't the sort of lockdowns that much of the western world has seen.
I'm not sure exactly what happened, but after the holiday weekend happened and all the visitors returned to their home cities, the government decided that we were going to lock down again. This hasn't been too terribly harsh, but it is the first time in a long time that we have had any sort of mandates at all. Wearing a mask was completely elective for everywhere that I ever went outside of the entrance / exits of the shopping malls. Once past the gate sentinels, basically everyone took their masks off, Vietnamese and foreigner alike.
The rules during what is going on now are pretty relaxed and it went into effect 3 days ago at midnight, exactly after the conclusion of the holiday and 4-day weekend. I say that it is pretty relaxed in that a lot of places are still open and I was sitting with friends at two different establishments yesterday drinking beers. Some places are still open while others have been forced to shut. The decision seems kind of arbitrary about which to close and which to not close and most of the places that have been unaffected by the government are smaller organizations.
There is also a very stiff penalty for mask violations although I am yet to hear about anyone who has been charged with this, let alone the maximum penalty. For your average local this amount of money is so high you might as well ask them to pay a $100 billion fine because both are completely out of reach so it does seem to be more of a threat than anything else.
I wear my mask whenever I leave my house because I am not trying to cause any problems and I certainly don't want a standoff with any sort of official. I mentioned a couple of times that some hard-headed neighbors of mine were deported about 8 months ago for doing exactly that. Nah, I'd rather stay here and just comply, thanks.
There hasn't been any indication about how long this is going to last and while the information is out there about why this is happening at all the only word I have heard is that a single person tested positive somewhere and now they are going to all the places that he visited and testing all of those people too.
So I guess what I am saying here is that Vietnam's unbeaten streak in the world of no lockdowns has come to an end. It really isn't that bad because we could probably use a week or two of the bars being shut anyway - well, I could use it, that's for sure. I suppose I'll use this time to catch up on my PS4 backlog of games that I downloaded and haven't played yet or perhaps to find a new series that doesn't absolutely suck on Netflix. If you have any suggestions I would appreciate it.
😆😄😁 hahahaha.. Awesome and this was the case here for a while. That is what I said and then the guy at the liquor store began to recognize me and knew my name. It was at that time that I knew I had a different kind of problem. lol
Seriously though, I hear ya. We wear our masks where we need to and are not looking to get involved in any standoffs or arguments either. I hope your lock down is breif and the problem is limited. Hang in there!!! Nadi too!! 😊
Thanks @bdmillergallery for being engaged in the ASEAN Hive Community. !ENGAGE 45
ENGAGEtokens.I’m in Los Angeles and we’ve been in lockdown for over 15 months. Many of my friends have moved. The psychological effect this has is not good. People are polarized in how to treat one another. The mask people vs the no-maskers and now the vaccinated vs the no-jab people. People really believe you are asking for a death sentence, are suicidal, or are recklessly homicidal if you are a “give me liberty or give me death” person. I see people in social media openly complain and dox neighborhood businesses and individuals that won’t fall in line. Meanwhile, homeless encampments are growing. I thought they would be the most challenged during a pandemic. I thought the streets would fill with dead bodies.
A world where families and friends gather in rebellion or with great worry, a world where everyone is silent and no one makes small talk while in line for groceries to bide time with a kind stranger, and a world where people don’t gather in community whether it be at church or a concert, is not a happy world.
Too many people are fearful. FEAR FULL. And reacting from that space.
I appreciate the brave that have fight in them and question the government, question everything. We’re lucky we live in a country where we can do that. I hope Vietnam has its people that have questions and are willing to go outside and prove that we can all live. It’s a mystery why a lockdown now when you see nothing has drastically changed before your eyes.
I know many people that had covid and lived. Most didn’t know they were covid positive until they got tested. Go figure.
J
There is a friend of mine that was in L.A. and was losing her damn mind. In her case she was / is an exceptionally qualified teacher so she was actually able to get into Vietnam based on her expertise.
I have known this person for a long time and started to notice her decent into "madness" so to speak. She is also prone to alcoholism and not being able to go to work or leave her house was turning her into a day drinker.
That's horrible. Hopefully things can change for you guys soon. My situation seems rather insignificant to the way things are going for you.
I'm glad your friend has you to notice her descent and be there for her. She is fortunate to get out of Los Angeles. It can be a terrible place to be under "house arrest" lockdown. I went to a phase of whiskey and coffee everyday to take the edge of feeling desolate and isolated. I'm fortunate to have neighbors and friends that check in on me a do weekly video calls .And I live in a nice area on a hill surrounded by trees that it doesn't feel like I'm in cement jungle Los Angeles. Many of my friends left. Businesses are boarded up. Many mom and pops, independent owned businesses went belly up. The corporate chain stores are thriving. Target. Walmart, etc.
I hope things improve for the world over and I hope Vietnam NEVER gets as bad as Los Angeles. We had curfews last year and looting and fires. Stay safe out there and let's hope the world is free again soon!
J
Thanks @jnetsworld for being engaged in the ASEAN Hive Community. !ENGAGE 150
ENGAGEtokens.The Serpent on Netflix is definitely worth watching. Especially as a traveler/expat.
I was also surprised by how much I enjoyed Last Chance U: Basketball. I don't even like basketball. Or sports. Or athletes. It's good though.
It sucks that they're starting to lock down a little bit. I wonder if it's more a show for the rest of the world than anything else. It almost sounds like some Nike exec made a complaint after seeing people without masks in their factory. Hopefully the government doesn't do much more than make proclamations.
the lockdowns here in the past haven't been that bad and there is a real push from the local population to make this as brief as possible. This is a tourist town and the people are suffering greatly in a financial sense.
Even though I feel as though Vietnamese people are more compliant than a lot of other countries in regard to their government, they too have a tipping point.
Thanks for the recommendation about The Serpent ... I'll check that out.
Thanks @fronttowardenemy for being engaged in the ASEAN Hive Community. !ENGAGE 50
ENGAGEtokens.Thailand news says it's getting worse here as well and I hate not being able to be out and about. Enjoy series and games! lol
well hello there! I have heard that things are lockdown city all across Thailand now as well. I guess this is just going to go on forever. Glad you made it back!
Thanks @waybeyondpadthai for being engaged in the ASEAN Hive Community. !ENGAGE 15
ENGAGEtokens.How did the government manage to control the spread of the virus despite its border with China? It's a mystery, every government wonders.
In the meantime, take care of yourself these days!
Thanks @cryptoxicate for being engaged in the ASEAN Hive Community. !ENGAGE 15
ENGAGEtokens.oh no! you made it this long, I suppose consider that a blessing. Hopefully they have different / different plans than what has happened over here. We seem to be in an endless cycle of lockdown, wait 2 months, discover a few cases, panic, then lockdown again.
I VN can do it better.
Thanks @chaingmai.hhh for being engaged in the ASEAN Hive Community. !ENGAGE 25
ENGAGEtokens.Did you watch the Sinner yet? It was originally on USA, but my wife and I have been watching the three seasons that are available on Netflix. We also really got into Queen of the South. Another USA show that is now on Netflix. Schitt's Creek was also some good light hearted fun that helped us get through the first round of lock downs about a year ago. If it wasn't for that and the above average alcohol consumption, we probably would have been miserable!
hahahaha.. and you have the photos to prove it! 😆
Thanks @bozz for being engaged in the ASEAN Hive Community. !ENGAGE 45
ENGAGEtokens.Well, in the overall scheme of things, I think you're in a pretty good location. COVID has never flared up on a major scale here in Suriname yet, but there are only a half a million people in the whole country, this place lures almost no tourists, the economy has failed, the borders are closed, and there are no good public spaces for recreation. Our biggest concern is the economic crisis and the selfishness it is revealing in people here.