The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is projected to cost Viet Nam nearly VND 200,000 billion (US$ 9.4 billion) in budget revenue, according to Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

The country’s tourism sector was among the hardest-hit sectors as borders remain closed to foreign tourists, said Phuc, adding that in normal condition, Viet Nam may welcome 21 million foreign arrivals with total revenue of US$60 billion.

Despite the great losses, the Government placed high priority to protecting people’s health and lives by taking early and drastic measures to contain the pandemic right from the beginning.

PM Phuc affirmed that the Government will continue sustaining vigilance in the time to come as many countries across the globe are struggling with the second wave of COVID-19.

The Government has pursued different approaches to curb the pandemic with nationwide social distancing introduced in the first stage and quick zoning off hotspots since the outbreak of the second wave of COVID-19.

Thanks to effective containment of the pandemic, Viet Nam is one of the two Asia-Pacific economies to attain positive growth. In addition, the country is listed among 16 most successful emerging economies in the world with many prospects to narrow the gap with developed countries amidst the COVID-19 epidemic, according to the Economist.

However, the country is facing unprecedented frequencies of natural disasters, causing huge impacts on the national economies.

The central region alone have been hit by prolonged heavy rains, which triggered historic flooding and deadly landslides between October 6 and 25 that caused at least 130 deaths. VGP