[17] The emergence of the Omicron variant brought about a rapid rise in infections in early 2022, although drastically fewer deaths were reported due to high vaccination rates in the country.

[44] WHO declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on 30 January, saying that its Wuhan investigation was finished and citing mounting evidence that the novel coronavirus had spread to 18 countries.

In collaboration with the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Vietnam implemented an "event-based" surveillance program in 2018 which enables the public to report public-health issues.

The first two confirmed cases in Vietnam, a Chinese man born in 1954 and his son, were admitted to Cho Ray Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City on 22 January 2020.

[8][57][58] The first cluster appeared in Son Loi Commune, Bình Xuyên District, Vĩnh Phúc, after several workers returned from a Wuhan training trip and infected people in close contact with them.

[80] To limit the outbreak's economic impact, the government initially quarantined areas directly related to the infected people; after two weeks, however, the increasing number of cases showed no sign of slowing.

[111] In June 2023, Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính stated that COVID-19 no longer constituted a severe transmissible disease, leaving the jurisdiction of future COVID-19 prevention and classification to the Ministry of Health.

[114][115] The health ministry sent experts to Da Nang to help the city contain the infection and quickly identify its source, submitting the new strain's data to a world gene bank for comparison.

[130][131][132][133] This success has been attributed to several factors, including a well-developed public health system, a decisive central government, and a proactive containment strategy based on testing, tracing, and quarantining.

[11] Vietnam's response to the outbreak has received broad international praise for its speed, effectiveness and transparency,[134] in contrast to censorship in China[135] and poor preparation in the United States and Europe.

[149] Experience with pandemics has led to the development of institutional preparedness and "social memory," instrumental in encouraging people to adopt protective behaviors and heed official regulations and guidance.

Four days later, medical staffs from three of the country's major hospitals (Bạch Mai, Việt Đức and Central Huế) established three ICU centres with a total of 1,500 beds.

[201] On 8 September 2021, Deputy Minister of Health Tran Van Thuan met with France's Xenothera company to discuss collaboration on phase-III clinical trials of the XAV-19 COVID-19 drug and the transfer of production technology to Vietnam.

In 2021, a vaccination programme began, whilst outbreaks in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi prompted the government to introduce further lockdowns, which were ultimately lifted due to their economic and social impacts, and continued spread of the Delta variant.

[225] A January 2021 survey by Singapore's United Overseas Bank found that Vietnamese were Southeast Asia's most optimistic about their future, despite the economic and social challenges posed by the pandemic.

Mekong Development Research Institute director Phung Duc Tung said that the biggest challenge for overseas workers when they returned is losing their jobs due to the lack of official information about repatriation dates and a government plan.

"This led to psychological problems, depression, pessimism, and there was a suicide case when he returned to Vietnam", Tung said, referring to a Vietnamese driver who killed himself in a quarantine facility.

[242][243] Although authorities imposed mandatory measures to prevent disease spread, some people left quarantined areas or were dishonest about reporting symptoms;[244] in March 2020, the first patient in Hanoi did not provide an accurate travel history.

[245] Anger was reported at infections in the Muslim community returning from Malaysia's Tablighi Jamaat festival; several patients did not self-quarantine in Vietnam, and attended Islamic events in Ho Chi Minh City.

[255] On 3 March 2020, nearly one million masks of unknown origin were discovered in a warehouse by police in Tân Phú district, Ho Chi Minh City.

[252][250] When racism began receiving more coverage in news and social media, the Vietnamese government announced that it would fine those who refused service to foreigners and set up a hotline for assistance and reporting violations.

Vietnam's economy was hit hard by the pandemic; private and national industries slowed, stocks fell and tourism faltered, making hundreds of thousands people jobless and relying on unemployment benefits to survive.

Despite the deceleration in economic activity, the Asian Development Bank reported that Vietnam's GDP growth rate was expected to remain one of the highest in the Asia-Pacific region.

[280] The Vietnam Industry Agency said that manufacturers lacked raw materials and components (mainly imported from Japan, China, and South Korea), endangering factory operations.

[285] Due to fears generated by a January 2021 outbreak in Hải Dương and Quảng Ninh, the VN Index fell 73.23 points (6.67 percent); it was the worst single-session loss since the September 11 attacks.

[295] A two-month lockdown in Ho Chi Minh City (which contributes 20 percent of Vietnam's GDP) pushed many businesses to the limit when nearly all economic activity froze.

Vietnam Airlines and two low-cost carriers (VietJet Air and Bamboo Airways) requested government support and refinanced loans, estimating that the industry would not fully recover until 2023 at the earliest.

[314] On 12 November, CAAV deputy director Vo Huy Cuong said that the agency planned to organize nearly 30 flights to Kiên Giang and Khánh Hòa province.

[12][315] On 6 February 2020, under the leadership of Minister of Vietnam Education and Training Phung Xuan Nha, the Steering Committee for Disease Prevention and Control agreed to allow students to remain at home for an additional week after the Tết holiday.

Schools began to adopt online instruction,[316] and the Ministry of Education and Training issued junior high- and high-school teaching plans for the second semester of the 2019–2020 academic year on 31 March.