The Jaded Empress Chronicles

  W e ll... perhaps I / we spoke too soon!  A s detailed in my Covid-19 diaries Part 1  here  (imperative to read first), Vietnam and especially, Ho Chi Minh City, the nation's Covid-19 poster child, had done a pretty remarkable job managing the coronavirus outbreak, in fact one of the world's most successful in terms of relatively low number of cases and deaths.  After  just over a year,    in late May 2021, the  Covid-19 tally was roughly  42 deaths and 5141 cases out of a population of 90 million and   sheesh, e ven the economy is growing.  Overall,  compared to much of the rest of the planet during the global pandemic,  I was lucky to lead a fairly normal life in Ho Chi Minh City for a year or so and apart from scant work, dwindling funds, borders closures and witnessing some favourite venues forced to close, nay, even quite the enjoyable time.   How proud the Saigonese were of their 'normal service resumes' life, the crowds in the cafes, restaurants, pagodas, shopp

  W ell....l ittle did this Jaded Empress ever imagine that when she wrote her first post about her return to her beloved Ho Chi Minh City  in 2018  (as chronicled  here )  that two  years later she would be entangled-up in and greatly affected by the global pandemic that is $%#@*&% Covid-19.  Actually, being in Vietnam probably ended-up a pretty good move in some ways,  as, throughout 2020 and well into 2021 during the coronavirus pandemic,  this nation of 90 million people ranked  amongst the world's top to  contain the coronavirus, with  some of  the lowest  number of confirmed cases and related deaths (even more  amazing as Vietnam's neighbour  is China,  where we all know,   Covid-19 originated from).  Not that many folk were/ are aware of all this, as Vietnam never got the media coverage, nay, recognition, it deserved  like other Asian nations, such as South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore, etc.    T he Vietnamese  government's  response to this  catastrophic global s