I feel like everybody is affected by the Covid-19 outbreak in some way. For me, and for most people in Vietnam, the impact is mostly felt in reduced economic activities.
I remember reading the news right before Tết. There were a couple of articles mentioning the virus in Wuhan. I didn’t think much of it.
And right after that, there was a government mandate that all schools, including private classes, were to be closed for one week. We had to push all of our classes’ opening dates back another week. No big deal; it’s just one week.
And then came Friday of that week. Another mandate for all schools and centres to remain closed. No public festivals allowed either. I started to worry. The infection trend around the world showed signs of exponential increase.
Around the third week of February, rumours started to circulate that the HCMC City Council was proposing another month of no school. This would mean students wouldn’t be allowed to go to school until April. If this was real, we would be completely fucked. February and March — two months of zero income!
Even right now, as I’m typing this, I’m anxiously awaiting the latest decree comes Friday. Students are supposed to be back next Monday (2nd of March). I really, really hope everything will get back to normal soon. One month of zero business activity has been bad enough, I really don’t need another month.
There is a silver lining from this whole bleak situation: our TeenFit project is doing well! We’ve got many parents coming over these past weeks as the kids are at home, and so they have lots of free time. If it was during the regular school year, the kids would be up to their neck with all the afterschool classes.
In a way, we’re still the lucky one though. So many people have it worse because of the epidemic.
I read on VnExpress about a guy who in late 2019 borrowed money to open a beer shop on Minh Khai street. He invested 3 billion in the shop, hoping to break even in about a year. Unfortunately, immediately after that there was that stringent crackdown on drunk driving that scared many away from drinking. And then, this virus outbreak! Nobody wanted to be out in public anymore. His shop had fewer than 10 customers a day. He had to close down his shop after only a couple of months. That must have sucked for him so much. Terrible timing to open a beer shop.
Similarly, I’m sure businesses in industries like airline, event, tourism, education are all suffering massively. A friend of mine who was flying a couple of days ago said that the airport was eerily empty! And as I’ve noticed, many eateries and restaurants catering to students around the Bách Khoa area are closing. Huge “For Rent” sign at the front. Also, I think all public festivals and events have been banned in the time being. Even the upcoming arm wrestling tournament in Hải Phòng has been postponed indefinitely. I’m not sure when it will take place. Probably when the weather gets warmer and the epidemic has been 100% contained.
Of course there are those who are forced into quarantine, and those who are infected or even died. I feel like death from respiratory failure, i.e struggling for each breath you take, has to be among the most painful ways to go.
Anyway, besides the lack of activity at the IELTS centre, I have not been personally affected by the virus much. Life mostly goes on as normal. And that’s a really good thing.