It is very hard to talk about leadership or lack thereof without talking about the people in charge. The purpose of this summary of events is to analyze the facts, not necessarily the people making decisions and therefore, avoid the political aspect of this topic.
I came across a news feed from CNN that talked about how Vietnam was able to accomplish a zero mortality rate due to COVID-19. I decided to do some fact-checking, corroborate some of the highlights and compare Vietnam’s response to the COVID 10 pandemic to that of the US. According to Johns Hopkins University, Vietnam is one of the few countries in the world with zero deaths attributed to COVID 19. Here is a very high level of the actions that Vietnam and the US have taken to fight this virus.
January 9, 2020
China publicly identified a new “pneumonia-like” virus. The WHO issued guidance for other countries to detect and respond to the novel coronavirus.
January 10
China officials announced the first known death from the new coronavirus.
January 30
The WHO declared that COVID 19 outbreak is a Public Health Emergency.
March 11
The WHO declared that COVID 19 is a global health pandemic.
Other countries such as New Zealand (1,504/22) and Costa Rica (1,022/10) have also been praised for their COVID 19 results (cases/deaths).
Early January – Temperature screening was in place for passengers arriving from Wuhan to Hanoi’s airport.
Jan 23 – Government confirmed the first 2 cases of COVID 19.
Jan 27 – Government set up a steering committee to control the outbreak.
Late Jan – Early Feb – Meticulous contact-tracing begins.
Feb 1 – The government declared a national epidemic with just 6 cases. All flights between Vietnam and China were halted, followed by suspension of visas to Chinese citizens.
Late Feb – all entries to foreigners were suspended.
Jan 20 – First case reported.
Feb 2 – Travel from China is restricted.
Mar 11 – New travel restrictions from Europe are imposed.
Mar 13 – the US declares a national emergency.
Mar 14 – Additional travel restrictions are issued.
Mar 31 – a “Do Not Travel” Internationally is issued by the State Department.
May 16 – CDC issues Guidance on COVID 19 Investigation and Contact Tracing Plan.
For all of the leaders out there in every profession and in every aspect of government or private enterprise, this report card is just not acceptable. We have let people down and we have shown the world that despite calling ourselves the “leaders of the free world”, we did not rise to the biggest challenge that the world has seen in recent decades. This is not a government or a political issue, I see this type of results in private companies and many other areas. I see young managers blaming others, passing responsibility to their predecessors or making excuses for themselves. We must learn from this, apply the lessons learned, try harder, and not allow ourselves to make these mistakes again. Today is a new day to become a better leader, don’t waste the day.