Khanh Hoa (VNA) - “Thank you, soldiers!” This is the heartfeltsentiment of Vietnamese citizens returning home from overseas and quarantinedat facilities in south-central Khanh Hoa province’s military units towardsthose who have cared for them in recent days.

Vo Van Thao, bornin 1972 in the Mekong Delta province of Soc Trang, went to Taiwan (China) towork in 2018. When COVID-19 broke out around the world, his company adopted apolicy of assisting staff to get back home. Only at the end of July, however, didhe get that chance.

Suffering from a heartdisease, Thao was concerned that if he was infected by the coronavirus then thetreatment costs in his adopted country could be huge. Now back to the homeland,he feels safe and sound. “The soldiers serve us nutritious meals every day and teachus physical exercise, while medical staff give us check-ups,” he said.

Of a similar mind,Pham Thanh Long, who came home on July 28 and is in quarantine in anotherfacility in Khanh Hoa, said he was stranded overseas by COVID-19. After enteringquarantine, the first thing he and many others noticed was the warm care fromthe soldiers. From their reception at the airport to the accommodation, thesoldiers prepared everything with all of their heart. “We understand that thesituation is very dangerous,” Long said. “Quarantine is a safety measure for usand society as a whole. In addition to the gratitude we feel towards the Motherland,we also donate money through the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee. Wealso would like to express our sincere thanks to the soldiers at the quarantinefacility.”

Khanh Hoa provinceis currently quarantining 525 Vietnamese who were previously working, studying,or accessing medical treatment abroad, including 146 pregnant women, at fourmilitary units. To care for the pregnant women, female military physicians havecoordinated with doctors, obstetricians, and midwives at the Khanh Hoaprovincial Department of Health when providing health check-ups.

It’s not that easyfor the male soldiers, who are only in their 20s, to care for the pregnantwomen. They are learning on the job about cooking meals how the pregnant womenwant them. And they have done it really well.

Deputy Chief ofStaff of the Khanh Hoa Border Guard, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Lam Nam, who is alsoin charge of a quarantine facility, said their task is to guarantee absolutesafety and create the most comfortable conditions for those under quarantine.

As the facility isshort of clean water, the soldiers must pump it every morning from 2am to 5am,Nam added.

The soldiers onduty at the quarantine facility of Regiment 803, Division 305, Military Region 5suffer greater hardship. Every time they welcome Vietnamese citizens home, theyhave to stay up all night for the work and offer the best infrastructure to theguests, while they themselves move to makeshift camps a few kilometres away.


According to theprovincial Health Department, the four quarantine facilities managed by thearmy are now overloaded. The provincial People’s Committee has therefore decidedto use other quarantine facilities at the Centre for Defence and SecurityEducation at the Nha Trang University as well as the university’s dormitory, tooffer an additional 700 places.

The two facilitieshave been cleaned up and are fully equipped to welcome people who must undergo quarantine.

Sergeant NguyenHoang Thanh Thien said that when the soldiers first went there, the buildingswere empty and covered in dust. After just four days of cleaning, however, all werespic-and-span and had electricity and water supply and the necessary equipment.“We do this so the returnees understand that bringing them back to Vietnam involvesa major effort by the Government amid economic difficulties,” Thien said. “Hopefullyeveryone feels secure when they’re in quarantine.”

With a spirit of“fighting the pandemic like fighting the enemy”, the army is more than willingto pioneer disease prevention and control measures. Every soldier on the frontline of the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic knows that this is their dutyand they are willing to weather all the hardships to fulfil all the tasks assignedon them./.