Speaking at an online discussion with the Bild newspaper, the former Vice Chancellor, who once served as Health Minister, said Vietnam, which he visited last month, took a prompt response as soon as the pandemic broke out.

He noted that the country immediately closed its borders and locked down areas where new cases were reported.

Effective measures were introduced, helping the country overcome two outbreaks and make domestic travel possible again. All people entering the country, with very few exceptions, were sent to quarantine, he said.

In his recent visit to Vietnam with representatives from a number of enterprises in Germany, Switzerland, and Israel, Rosler congratulated Vietnam on successfully controlling the pandemic, describing it as a model for other countries to follow.

Meanwhile on December 7, Jeremy Farrar, one of the leading experts on the COVID-19 fight, also lauded Vietnam’s pandemic control results in an interview with the Zeit newspaper.

He said the country quickly adopted a drastic response with effective measures to break down the infection by strict quarantine and widespread testing.

He held that preventing the spread of the virus and avoiding new infections form the only strategy for the long-term control of the pandemic, as applied in Vietnam and other Asian countries.