Soldiers deliver food to families under lockdown in HCMC, September 2, 2021. (Photo: VnExpress/Quynh Tran)

The survey, released Monday, was done by the UNDP and the Mekong Development Research Institute (MDRI) and polled 1,501 people between Sep. 17 and Oct. 15.

Between 84% and 89% of the respondents rated as "good" or "very good" (out of four options) the efforts by the government, cities/provinces, communes, and villages/towns.

However, the figures dropped to 70-74 percent in areas with severe outbreaks such as Ho Chi Minh City and its neighbors Binh Duong, Long An and Dong Nai.

While 93 percent agreed on the need for stringent social distancing, the rate was lower at 86 percent in the four hotspots, where possibly people were reconciled to opening up and living safely with the disease.

The most stringent social distancing restrictions were under Directive 16, which many localities imposed since late April to curb the fourth outbreak caused by the more virulent Delta variant.

The survey asked people about their priorities, and 83 percent said saving lives was more important than economic revival. The rates were 71 percent among poor people, 77 percent in the four southern hotspots and 78 percent in areas locked down for at least four months.