Vietnam’s handwashing dance goes viral amidst worldwide coronavirus outbreak

‘Ghen Co Vy’, a Vietnamese song and its accompanying dance about the necessity of hand-washing during the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak, has gone viral on the internet and received much attention from the community and international organizations.

'Ghen Co Vy' was produced at the order of the Health Ministry to raise public awareness about the outbreak and how to prevent it from spreading in the community.
'Ghen Co Vy' was produced at the order of the Health Ministry to raise public awareness about the outbreak and how to prevent it from spreading in the community.

The song was produced by young musician Khac Hung at the order of the National Institute of Occupational and Environmental Health under Vietnam's Ministry of Health to raise public awareness about the outbreak and how to prevent it from spreading in the community.

Based on his Vietnamese pop hit "Ghen" (Jealous), delivered by singers Min (Nguyen Minh Hang) and Erik (Le Trung Thanh), Khac Hung wrote a new lyric for the song, advising people to wash their hands, not to rub their eyes or mouths, to limit going to crowded places and to stay clean.

The Health Ministry also worked with choreographer Quang Dang to create a handwashing dance which moves with the lyrics and sparked the "Ghen Co Vy Challenge" on TikTok.

The song and its accompanying dance have gone viral on social media after it was featured on HBO's comedic news show Last Week Tonight, during which host John Oliver called it a "genuine club-banger".

In an article published on March 2, Billboard, an American entertainment magazine, also hailed the song as “insanely catchy”, saying it “will get stuck in your head for days, but the accompanying animated video is equally fun to watch”.

UNICEF shared Quang Dang’s handwashing dance video in a post on March 4, stressing to people that washing their hands with soap and water is one of the first steps in protecting themselves from coronavirus.

Choreographer Quang Dang created a handwashing dance which moves with the lyrics and sparked the "Ghen Co Vy Challenge" on TikTok.