Here’s What It’s Like Living in Saigon During the Coronavirus

By now the coronavirus has had an impact on us all, including the US, my home country. I’ve been watching what started as a “mystery pneumonia” in China, rapidly make its way around the world for nearly four months now. And it’s a scary thing to watch. That’s mainly because a lot of people weren’t (and still aren’t) taking it seriously – though that’s rapidly changing – and also because we just don’t know a whole lot about this novel coronavirus.

Now that I’m unemployed (thanks coronavirus) and basically housebound (again, thanks coronavirus), I’ve had an unhealthy amount of time to keep up with the news and watch way too many Instagram stories about how this is impacting my friends and fellow travel bloggers all over the world.

It’s fascinating to see how different countries are coping with it. In Spain, which is on total lockdown, people head out to their balconies at 8 pm each night to applaud healthcare workers (it’s truly touching). In the UK, they’re delivering soup to the elderly. And in the US they’re supporting small businesses by encouraging the purchase of gift cards, food delivery and online shopping.

Oddly, I’m fairly certain that every country in the world is hoarding toilet paper aside from Vietnam. Why, people? Why?

It’s interesting to see how people are coming together during such a tough time. It’s disheartening to see the hate and disinformation that’s also spreading. All in all, it’s terrifying for all of us, no matter where in the world we are. We really are all in this together.

So, what’s it like living in Ho Chi Minh City (aka Saigon) during the time of coronavirus?

It’s complicated?

While the coronavirus life has only recently become a reality in some countries – like the US and Mexico – we’ve been living with it for months here in Vietnam. Aaron and I returned from Bali to Saigon on February 7, and it was immediately apparent when we landed at the airport that life was going to be very different for a while.

At the airport, I’d say 60% of people were wearing masks, which is not the norm. Aaron and I did not wear masks that day. We arrived back at our apartment, unmasked and with our luggage. We were waiting to get into the elevator along with three young Vietnamese ladies, who were all wearing masks. I got into the elevator, held the door open and motioned for them to come into the elevator. “No, it’s OK. Thank you. It’s OK,” they said as they literally backed away from us.

The fear was real. And this was in early February!

In the elevator, we noticed a sign about the coronavirus and a small basket with a bottle of hand sanitizer. A sign posted outside of our building said that delivery drivers can no longer deliver food and products to apartment doors (food delivery is HUGE in Vietnam). Instead, they have to wait at the entrance of the apartment complex and we have to go down and meet them. There were red propaganda signs about the coronavirus hanging all over our complex. The vibe was strange.

Many apartment complexes, stores and restaurants were already doing temperature checks. I’d say 70% percent of people in my neighborhood were wearing masks. Again, this was early February.

When we got back to Vietnam from our trip to Bali, all schools were already closed across the country. Aaron was slated to start teaching classes at his university on February 10. And then we got the message that courses would be taught online for the first week, and that turned into another week and another. Aaron’s university remains closed but is offering online courses. We still don’t really know when universities and schools will open for face-to-face teaching. But I’m going to go out on a limb here and say it’s not going to happen anytime soon.

On February 20, I got word that my company in China was struggling – directly due to the economic impact of the coronavirus. 12 days later they went bankrupt. And guess, what. They didn’t pay me. I’m still fighting to get the thousands of dollars that I’m owned, and it’s been very stressful.

I’m far from alone in this. The coronavirus has had very real impacts on each and every student, teacher and professor in Vietnam. Teachers here haven’t taught in months, which means a lot of teachers have been left, very unexpectedly, with no income. Businesses are also being impacted. Last week all bars, clubs, karaoke places, massage parlors and cinemas were ordered to close. Restaurants are going out of business left and right and were ordered to close on March 24. And the tourism industry is…non-existent? All inbound flights to Vietnam will stop on March 25.

With a couple of new outbreaks and new cases popping up around the country every day, things are getting weirder day by day. (Seriously, as I write this there are two suspected cases in my apartment building.) The government officially closed all land borders a few days ago. They are no longer issuing visas and the visa situation is going to get very complicated for anyone who needs to extend theirs. Thankfully, my visa doesn’t expire until December. Aaron’s expires in June, which is a bit worrisome.

Those who are coming to Vietnam are all being put under a mandatory 14-day quarantine (and I’m not talking about home quarantining). So if you don’t need to come here, don’t. The conditions don’t look ideal since you’re basically shuttled to a military barrack. I’ve been following the story of a travel blogger/fellow Saigon expat who is being quarantined and while she’s clearly been frustrated by the whole experience, she’s been amazingly positive, well-fed and seems to be treated very kindly by medical professionals. She’s even made friends and received a care package from a friend. It’s nice to see people come together! I don’t know her personally, so I can’t speak for her. It’s her story to tell. It’s just been interesting for me to see what Vietnam’s quarantining system is really like since information is sparse.

Generally, it’s just weird on the ground here in Saigon and it’s gotten a bit weirder the past couple weeks. I live in a suburb called Phu My Hung in District 7. The area where I live is far less crowded and chaotic that most areas of Saigon. I did go downtown a few days ago and while it’s much less crowded than usual, it seemed to be a bit more business as usual than Phu My Hung, where 80% of people have been wearing facemasks for months.

Interestingly, my neighborhood is home to a large population of both Japanese and Korean expats. Given the early outbreaks in South Korea and Japan, my neighborhood has been taking this very seriously for a while now.

So far, things seem OK in southern Vietnam, where I am. But there have been large groups of people quarantined around the country for months now. In February, a village of 10,000 in northern Vietnam was on lockdown for 14 days. The number of cases in Vietnam is now over 100, but I’m sure there are shortages on tests as well as false negatives. A lot of people being quarantined or who are self-quarantining aren’t being tested at all so we don’t really know the true number of cases. The same is true for so many countries, the US included.

We might not be able to test or report as accurately as countries like South Korea, but the government has been taking this very seriously since the beginning, so I applaud them for that. I don’t have health insurance in the US, so I can’t go home but I honestly feel safer staying in Vietnam than going home. It looks like the US is closing its borders to all expats soon, so I won’t be coming home until this all passes, which is a bit scary.

So what’s day-to-day life for me like?

Boring and a bit scary. In my last post, I mentioned that Aaron and I were planning to do a little traveling since we’re both not working. Spoiler alert: We haven’t been traveling. Right after I published that post we started talking and decided just because we’re relatively young and healthy and have a better chance of recovering from the coronavirus, we don’t want to be spreading it around.

Anything I can do to protect more at-risk people, I’ll do. We decided to stay put in our apartment in Saigon and limit social interactions, meaning we don’t meet with anyone. It seems like more people around the world are adopting the same philosophy, which I believe is the only way we can beat this thing. Basically, we go to the store and take walks each night to get some fresh air and get outside for a bit. It’s too hot to go out during the day! It’s 97 degrees here during the day. So no, heat doesn’t magically kill this coronavirus.

On a side note, I’m happy to report there’s not much hoarding going on in my neighborhood’s grocery stores. We’re slowly accumulating food so we can eat for two weeks in case our apartment complex goes under mandatory quarantine. If suspected or positive cases are found in an apartment complex or street block, the whole area is put on immediate lockdown for one to two weeks. But we are by no means hoarding. Stop hoarding! Basically we have a bag of rice, some noodle bowls and a case of beer! Ya know, the essentials.

Other than that we’re taking time to cook more. Mainly because we both have more time on our hands and need a distraction. We’ve been watching an absurd amount of Netflix. (Fun fact: I love reality TV. If you do too, you should totally watch The Circle and Love is Blind. The best! Also, if you haven’t seen the YouTube show Hot Ones, watch it if you need a good laugh. If you have Netflix or book recommendations leave them in the comments below!)

Like everyone else in the city, I’ve become hyper-vigilant about washing my hands, not touching my face and practicing social distancing. I can’t even tell you how many times I wash my hands each day. I have not yet taken to wearing a mask outside. Though I’m now mandated to wear them in stores and I’ve been wearing them in taxis since February. All drivers have been required to wear them for months, so I wear one out of courtesy.

As of March 16, everyone in Vietnam is now required to wear facemasks in all public places, including grocery stores. If you’re caught not wearing one, you’ll be fined. I’m not in love with this rule because that’s a hell of a lot of facemasks that should be allotted to the sick and those in the healthcare industry. But rules are rules.

Wearing masks has just become the norm in Saigon. As a foreigner, I’ve gotten a lot of glares, people distancing from me and I’ve even been yelled at once. Some people seem to be very wary of foreigners, mainly because the recent outbreaks in Vietnam originated on a flight from the UK. (For the record, most everyone is as nice as usual. I love the people in this country.) I understand similar things are going on around the world. One of Aaron’s former students from China is currently studying in the US. She’s literally been coughed at by multiple people. People need to stop the hate. Please. We need to spread love not hate right now.

It’s a scary time, but I’m not living in total fear. I will say I’m experiencing much more anxiety than usual. Part of it is the whole losing my job thing, but there’s also stress that’s come from the coronavirus. I’m just trying my best to stay positive and to be socially responsible. In terms of staying positive, I’ve had my good days and my bad days. I think I’m just a little bored and a lot scared of how this is going to impact the world in terms of health and economics. And, like everyone else, I’m just really concerned for my family back home.

Anyway, I just thought I’d share my story since I’ve been fascinated by stories others have shared about their experiences in different countries, especially the positive ones that show how communities are coming together. Stay healthy and safe, wash those hands, don’t travel and stay home (if possible). And let’s try our best to be kind to each other and support small businesses!

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If you want to share your story or give Netflix suggestions please feel free in the comments below!