Berlin (VNA) - Vietnam has performedstrongly in controlling the COVID-19 pandemic, with only a small number ofinfections and fatalities among its population of 97 million, former German Vice Chancellor Philip Rosler has said.

Speaking at an online discussion with the Bildnewspaper, 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 pandemicbroke out.

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

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

In his recent visit to Vietnam with representativesfrom a number of enterprises in Germany, Switzerland, and Israel, Rosler congratulatedVietnam on successfully controlling the pandemic, describing it as a modelfor other countries to follow.

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

He said the country quickly adopted a drastic responsewith effective measures to break down the infection by strict quarantine andwidespread testing.

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