Vietnam climbs 28 notches in latest COVID-19 recovery index

The nation has risen a total of 28 places to reach 90th position in the latest edition of Nikkei's COVID-19 Recovery Index which was issued in early February.

Vietnam is among the six countries with the highest vaccination rate.

The latest rise comes due to the high vaccine coverage rate and initial signs of tourism recovery in the country.

According to Nikkei, the nation is beginning to make a comeback, despite continuing to face high levels of infections.

“It too is moving toward coexisting with the virus, having eased reentry rules for overseas nationals and foreign workers late last month,” the website outlined.

Taiwan (China) climbed to top position, while Cambodia rose to second place after the neighbouring Southeast Asian nation declared roughly three months ago that it would start to live alongside the pandemic.

Elsewhere, China edged up one place to fourth as it gears up for the Beijing Winter Olympics.

Furthermore, the Philippines slipped 45 places to 104th after the Omicron variant caused an explosion in cases, while Japan tumbled 55 places down to 67th.

Other ASEAN member states also enjoyed higher positions in the index, including Malaysia at 10th, along with Singapore and Thailand at 19th.

The Nikkei COVID-19 Recovery Index ranks more than 120 countries and territories for their infection management, vaccine rollouts, and social mobility.

A higher ranking indicates that a country or region is closer to recovery with low numbers of COVID-19 cases, better vaccination rates, or less strict social distancing measures being put in place.