I. The political situation in Vietnam:

Vietnam is one of the most politically stable states in South East Asia. The one-party system of the country helps control political dissent, internal conflicts and safeguard sovereignty. The government has been successful in not only maintaining its political status, but also developing the economy to be able to sustain itself.

However, ever since the outbreak of the fourth wave of COVID-19, the economy has taken a massive hit. According to the Asian Development Bank, South East Asian economies will generally recover at “a much slower pace” than previously forecast. But on a brighter note, after a prolonged period of practicing social distancing in several provinces and cities across the country, business and public services have gradually opened up. Education, healthcare, sports, and entertainment activities have cautiously resumed. However, personal interprovincial transportation remains restrained in particular areas, which may induce a labor shortage when businesses and manufacturers reopen.

Vietnam: Economic growth (2013-2020)

II. COVID situation in Vietnam:

Since the pandemic began, there have been 839,609 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 20,555 coronavirus-related deaths reported. Notably, most reported deaths from COVID-19 in Vietnam have occurred from June to August this year. Vietnam has received 49,254,925 doses of the COVID-19 vaccines. The vaccination coverage will reach 25.5 percent of the country’s population, assuming that each person needs two doses.

Ho Chi Minh City is the place hardest hit by this 4th wave of COVID. In the first week of October, 4847 new infected cases per day on average were reported, down 35% compared to its record on Sep 3rd.

III. Translation Resource situation in Vietnam:

There were initial concerns that our resource performance and availability would deteriorate thanks to the ongoing trend of resources fleeing the city in fear of COVID infection and lockdown restrictions. As the government implemented strict guidelines and social distancing measures, the Hansem Global Language Services Team in Vietnam initially began to temporaily work from home and it has turned fully remote now. Everyone, including our resources, is required by law to stay at home. Daily life has been turned upside down both physically (due to the lack of necessities) and mentally (feeling afraid and frustrated when unable to go out). This closure order has dampened the lives of our resources, especially those who are really feeling the pinch at the center of the epidemic.

There were slight hiccups during the 3-month lockdown, such as the loss of communication due to power failure, internet failure, PC malfunction, along with other personal problems. Our freelancers were unable to even send their signed contracts and necessary documents to HSVN by mail in some instances as well. Furthermore, our resources were subject to take unexpected COVID tests, get vaccinated, and had to undergo some side effects, sidelining them all in the wake of getting the jab.

IV. How Hansem handles the resource situation in Vietnam:

Since 2020 when the pandemic really started to take its toll around the world, Hansem Global has been laying the groundwork for the unknown and has strived to discover an efficient work from home routine. Thankfully, this preparation and readiness has proven to be in our favor, as we were able to manage to deliver projects with the same productivity as before COVID-19, even when our team members were forced to adhere to their new routines. During the lockdown, we still maintained ongoing contact with our vast pool of Vietnamese freelancers. Requests and feedbacks were sent seamlessly to freelancers, and our projects ran smoothly even during the social distancing period. According to the latest government data, nearly 100% of Ho Chi Minh City’s adult population of 6.97 million has been inoculated with at least one shot. This means that all of our resources in the city are now deemed safe, and Hansem Global in Vietnam can finally resume its normal operations.

Also, in order to ensure seamless workflow, we regularly contact our resources for reminders via email, skype, and phone to make sure that all the parties receive the latest scoop and are on the same page. In addition, we always discuss issues that come up from the pandemic with our resources to find a suitable solution, with the consensus coming from our resources. Much to our relief, despite the challenges, we still managed to sail through all the projects, hence resulting in many happy campers and in turn raised a bunch of constructive positive praises from our clients.

In this spirit, we at Hansem Global are delighted to serve you and look forward to working with you down the road.

Be sure to contact us immediately should you need to translate or localize any Vietnamese-related content during these troubling times.