Yes. Vietnam had experience in dealing with a possible pandemic before: SARS.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlo_Urbani

To quote wikipedia:

> Urbani realized that Chen's ailment was probably a new and highly contagious disease. He immediately notified the WHO, triggering a response to the epidemic (principally isolation and quarantine measures) that would end it within five months. He also persuaded the Vietnamese Health Ministry to begin isolating patients and screening travelers, thus slowing the early pace of the epidemic.

The minister didn't cover up anything, did anything they could to stop the new deadly virus. Urbani later died of SARS and was hailed as a hero: https://www.who.int/neglected_diseases/news/Fifteen_years_af...

Vietnam maybe is a third world country but they are very serious about deadly flu pandemic.

More: https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2003/05/05/v...

> But by the end of the two-hour meeting, the vice minister of health, Nguyen Van Thuong, had agreed to allow WHO to summon an international team of experts. He also promised to organize a task force at the ministry that would review the situation daily.

> It was, Brudon said, a "turning point."

> Vietnam's response contrasted with that of China, which for weeks tried to conceal the extent of its outbreak. But a health official in Vietnam, Le Thi Thu Ha, said her country made a simple calculation: "We needed that technical assistance," she said.

> ...

> That week, the Health Ministry set up a task force. Days later, a dozen epidemiologists and pathologists had arrived from Britain, the United States, Sweden, Germany, France and Australia.

They asked for help when they needed help, not saving face like China's handling of COVID in 2019.

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