Last updated:  25 March 2021

COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered strain of coronavirus, a type of virus known to cause respiratory infections in humans. This new strain was unknown before December 2019, when an outbreak of a pneumonia of unidentified cause emerged in Wuhan, China.

The first case of COVID-19 in Viet Nam was detected on 24 January 2020. WHO has been supporting the Government in continuously enhancing the country’s capacities to effectively respond to COVID-19 in line with new scientific evidence and the pandemic’s evolving context. These include: public health emergency preparedness; surveillance and risk assessment; laboratory; infection prevention and control and clinical management; and risk communication. .