The best has yet to come

Normally, when a new year comes, it is a time for people to have new hopes. It seemed so recently until bad news about the Omicron variant began to spread.

Over the past few weeks, conflicting reports on Omicron from different parts of the world have added confusion to economic activities and people’s lives worldwide. Take, for example, a report about the infection rate caused by Omicron from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Previously, the CDC had announced the U.S. rate of Covid-19 infections relevant to the new variant until December 19 at 73%. However, on December 28, it revised down the rate to only 23%!

No clear explanations were given subsequently about this glaring discrepancy. But what Omicron has brought to the world is clear! Thousands of flights were cancelled in the United States just before the first day of 2022. Cities across the globe abolished ceremonies intended to ring in the New Year 2022 or narrowed down the scale. In London, the traditional event on New Year’s Eve at Trafalgar Square was cancelled because of public health safety concerns. In New Delhi, India, the authorities banned gatherings at public places and put on hold all social, religious and political events, including Christmas and New Year. In Vietnam, the government of HCMC cancelled the traditional event in celebration of New Year with spectacular fireworks displays.

Nobody knows what will happen next to the world as Omicron is becoming the dominant strain. However, one thing is for sure: the future remains largely indefinite until the coronavirus and all its dangerous variants are really brought under control.

That doesn’t necessarily mean that a grim future for us is certain and pessimism cannot be avoided, though.

Last year, Vietnam’s economic growth was put at a modest 2.58%. However, her export sector generated a spectacular growth rate of 18.6% this year, way higher than the 5% target set earlier. Given analyses from creditable financial institutions and international organizations on the world economy in 2022, some experts have argued that achieving an export growth rate between 16% and 20% this year may not be a distant dream for Vietnam.

Nowadays, when making a call on a mobile phone, the caller will receive first a reminder from the HCMC authorities that he or she should stay calm and prudent with Covid-19. That is the attitude one should adopt these days in lieu of fear.

Let’s hope that the best is yet to come in 2022!

It is also the message we would like to convey in our first issue of 2022.