According to Kidong Park, World Health Organization representative to Vietnam, the first risk assessment exercise was conducted by the Vietnamese in early January – soon after cases in China started being reported. On 3 January 2020, the day before the WHO said there was a cluster of cases in Wuhan, Vietnam tightened control at the Vietnam-China border. The Ministry of Health held a meeting with the WHO and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as early as 15 January, weeks before many other countries even started strategizing. These combined efforts of quick action and effective testing helped slow the spread of the virus in its earliest stages.
