Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Early awareness of the pandemic, appropriate, drastic and people-centric measures from the Government as well as public support are behind Việt Nam’s success in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc made the comments on Thursday in response to questions from Hà Nội-based correspondents of foreign media including US’ Bloomberg, Russia’s TASS news agency and Japan’s NHK TV and Akahata newspaper.

The Prime Minister also emphasised the persistent view of the Party, State and Government of Việt Nam to be proactive, not subjective, and to "fight against the pandemic like fighting the enemy".

The country had also successfully mobilised the strength and the participation of the whole political system and community in making pandemic prevention a priority, preventing the risk from outside, zoning off areas, treating diseases effectively, as well as sacrificing immediate economic benefits to protect people's health and lives, he said.

The Vietnamese PM said that facing the negative impacts of the pandemic, the Government had also implemented many measures to support the economy, remove difficulties for production and business, especially taking into account the concerns about the lives of people and having packages to support workers and ensure social security.

Therefore, Việt Nam had basically controlled the pandemic, at the same time, maintained the macro economy and, moved into a "new normal" state with determination to achieve GDP growth of 4.5-5 per cent in 2020.

Speaking about Việt Nam's international co-operation in the COVID-19 pandemic, the Prime Minister said that there had been many practical activities to support and co-operate with other countries and international organisations, which were highly appreciated by the international community, including sending medical masks and supplies, and sharing of information and Việt Nam’s pandemic prevention experience.

On this occasion, Prime Minister Phúc thanked the international media and press for paying attention and made comprehensive and objective assessments on the situation and positive results of Việt Nam in the prevention and control of COVID-19. He considered it a great encouragement for the Government and people of Việt Nam in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Foreign correspondents congratulated Việt Nam on its success and highly appreciated Việt Nam's measures to effectively prevent the COVID-19 pandemic. — VNS