Coronavirus: Vietnam’s charities, schools and tourism feel the pinch

From organisations rescuing human trafficking victims to schools dependent on international students, travel restrictions to China have taken a toll

China is also Vietnam’s largest source of foreign visitors, so the blanket ban on travel from the mainland is expected to severely impact the industry

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A man wearing a protective facemask sits at a bus stop in Hanoi amid rising concerns over the novel coronavirus outbreak. Photo: AFP

Published: 8:00am, 6 Feb 2020Updated: 8:57am, 6 Feb 2020

In an average week, the Hanoi-based Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation brings anywhere from two to five Vietnamese people rescued from human trafficking in China back to their home country. However, amid the novel coronavirus outbreak, the foundation’s last such border crossing took place on January 25, the first day of Lunar New Year.

“It’s not so much that we decided to stop, but that travel within China and across the border is simply not possible,” said Michael Brosowski, its founder and co-chief executive. “If it was physically possible, we’d keep going.”

Blue Dragon is still able to do basic investigative work on reports of trafficking, while it is also receiving more calls for help, but for now the organisation is unable to do any cross-border work. This is just one of the many ways in which the virus outbreak has disrupted business in Vietnam, where 10 confirmed infections have been reported.

On February 2, a day before schools in the country were set to resume classes following the lengthy Lunar New Year holiday, officials in most of Vietnam’s 63 provinces decided to close all public schools for the week. This includes Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, where over 4 million students were impacted by the decision.

Private schools were left to make their own call regarding classes, and many have followed the government’s lead, including Concordia International School in Hanoi, a sister institution of the Hong Kong International School.