A Covid-19 recovery index published by Nikkei Asia places Cambodia and Vietnam in 4th and 8th position respectively in a list that features 121 countries.
The two countries tied for the 100th position when this list was first published in July 2021. Since then, they have made a swift and consistent turnaround which made them rank among the top 10 countries for the last four months. On the same list, Thailand features in the 70th position and Laos at the 89th position.
The nations featured were assessed on areas like infection management, vaccine rollouts, and social mobility. A higher ranking represented quicker recoveries, characterized by lower infection and death rates, better vaccination coverage, and fewer restrictions on movement. This report is a testament to how some countries with major outbreaks were able to transform their situation by steady inoculation of their population and easing restrictions.
Both Cambodia and Vietnam were able to manage and control the pandemic in 2020, but in 2021 with the Delta variant rearing its head, the two countries were forced to again go into lockdown when vaccination drives were just starting off. However, they speeded up their inoculation efforts earning Vietnam full marks, or a score of 30, for vaccinations in the latest index, while Cambodia scored 29.
They were also able to drop their Covid-19 restrictions and open the country for international tourists. As a result of this, the World Bank increased Vietnam’s growth prediction for the year to 7.2% from 5.3% and Cambodia’s to 4.8% from 4.5%.
On the other hand, Laos slipped from its previous month’s ranking of 79 to 89 in September. It would work in the country’s favor to speed up its vaccination drive to better its ranking in the final report that will published for October 2022.
