Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR), Myanmar and Viet Nam, CLMV countries in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS), experienced a relatively smaller scale of confirmed cases and fatalities due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has been working with these countries for more than a decade to build their preparedness against communicable diseases and strengthen their existing health systems, which may have helped them contain the outbreak, according to Mr.

An initiative by the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office (MTCO), Destination Mekong, and the Mekong Institute (MI) taps individuals' help in crowdsourcing newly-spotted innovations on how the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is being managed and/or overcome in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS).

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a $20 million loan to support the Lao People’s Democratic Republic’s (Lao PDR) response to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic on 25 May 2020.

Limited resources did not stop Viet Nam from implementing a quick and effective response against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). As countries all over the world work to overcome the novel coronavirus outbreak, Viet Nam, a country with a population of 95 million, boasts a remarkably low infection rate of only 271 total confirmed cases and no deaths, according to the World Health Organization situational report (as of 5 May 2020). 

Mr. Jens Thraenhart, Executive Director of the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office, cautioned that what makes travel in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) one of a kind is now at risk. This includes travel experiences that define the Mekong Region and small businesses that are unique to the subregion.