Coronavirus tips: Valuable lessons from Vietnam on fighting coronavirus

Stay physically and mentally healthy with some coronavirus tips in this difficult period. This may be a stressful time for many people as the coronavirus pandemic is negatively affecting and upending millions of peoples lives in the world. Over the last 75 days, Vietnam has recorded no new coronavirus cases in the community. The country has been doing its best to contain the spread of coronavirus through drastic actions that the government has been taking. Lets see how Vietnam has controlled the pandemic.

#1 Coronavirus tips learned from Vietnam to help contain the spread of the disease

Here are some coronavirus tips of Vietnamese people that you may be searching for to keep yourself and others safe: Nationwide social distancing: Stay at home or “shelter in place” where you are. Avoid non-essential travel and social gatherings of more than 02 in public. Keep yourself at least 6 feet (about 2 metres—two arm lengths) away from others. The campaign “Nationwide social distancing” would last for 15 days, according to a directive issued by Vietnams Prime Minister. Wear a face mask whenever you go out in public to possibly prevent yourself and others from infections in case someone is infected or asymptomatically passing the virus on to others. Stop all international flights and issuance of new visas to all foreigners to minimise the number of people accessing the country. Submit the medical declaration form. Vietnam makes sure to update the everyday health status of everyone living in their country, regardless of Vietnamese or foreigners. If you are in Vietnam, you can either fill in the form online or offline.

Medical declaration form by Vietnam's Ministry of Health

Wash your hands often with soap and water or with alcohol-based handrub for at least 20 seconds regularly, especially after blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing; after visiting a public space; after touching surfaces outside of the home; before, during and after caring for a sick person; before and after eating; etc.

Wash your hands often and keep them clean. (In the photo: Lay Buddhists of Ba Vang Pagoda doing volunteer work under the instruction of Thay Thich Truc Thai Minh to spread coronavirus tips and health information)

Cover your coughs and sneezes with a tissue then throw used tissues in a trash can. If a tissue is not available, cough or sneeze into your elbow or upper sleeve. Wash your hands immediately with soaps. Stay healthy. You should clean your household surfaces, exercise inside your house so as not be so inactive under self-quarantine. Eat healthily and keep yourself hydrated to boost your immune system. 

#2 Coronavirus tips stemming from Buddhist practice

Vietnam is currently known for doing a very good job in handling the coronavirus as no death has been found in the country due to the virus and over 95% of infected cases have recovered. Dating back to the Buddhas time, Vesali—the capital of Licchavi which was heavily affected by drought and epidemic—managed to put an end to the calamity within only one week. That is to say, its leaders and officials asked for the help of the Buddha and invited Him to the country. When the Buddha came, accompanied by 500 bhikshus, He taught them to walk around the city three times reciting Ratana Sutra. The recitation together with pure minds of the bhikshus generated a power enormous enough to transform the situation which ended the drought right after the night and the epidemic after one week. That is the miracle of the Buddha Dharma.

Thay Thich Truc Thai Minh and His ordained disciples reciting the sutra to pray for an end of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Learning from the story below, at Ba Vang Pagoda (located in Quang Ninh province, Vietnam), Thay Thich Truc Thai Minh and His Buddhist community practise the Buddhas teachings and cultivate ourselves to pray for an end of the coronavirus. Some easy coronavirus tips below which stem from practising and experimenting the Buddhas teachings may help you.

Practise breathing

Take a deep breath in through your nose, then blow. Repeat at least 20 times and practise breathing regularly in a day. If you feel your chest is tightening, increase the numbers of your breaths until the symptom disappears. Then keep breathing and blowing many times. (This way of breathing is the same as the first aid for snake bites. Afterwards, call an ambulance or go to the nearest health centre immediately). Chest tightness starts with symptoms like heavy breathing and mild sternum pain, then the discomfort spreads to the centre of your chest and becomes more recurrent. How the pain gradually increases depends on each persons health. The last chest pain is so severe that it causes sudden respiratory failure to the patient which causes them to collapse. When you feel the severe chest pressure, try your best to blow strongly in three or four breaths then you will overcome this life-threatening situation. Then keep blowing until your breath becomes normal. Practise breathing that way regularly and every day.

Use ginger and onion to keep warm

A coronavirus tip from Buddhist practice: Using ginger and onion to keep yourself warm.

In the morning, drink a warm cup of fresh ginger juice to keep yourself warm. Eat some slices of raw onion before you go out in public. If travelling outside for a long time is unavoidable, keep the slices of raw onion in wraps and you can take them out sometimes to eat. The portion of onion intake should be just enough for you to feel the warm spiciness in your throat and nose. The flavour of raw onion is quite strong but you should tolerate it.