Voluntary members of the Hà Nội's youth league carry vegetables to supply to locked down areas. — VNA/VNS Photo Minh Đức

HÀ NỘI — In recent days, many checkpoints have been set up to protect COVID-free areas known as "green zones" to prevent the spread of the virus in the capital.

Aiming to contribute to the fight against the pandemic, Hà Nội’s youth has been implementing activities and essential tasks to join hands with local governments to protect the green zones in every corner of the city.

Bắc Từ Liêm District youth union set up a rapid response team for COVID-19 prevention and control with 490 volunteers who are union members and students living and studying in the district.

The volunteers were on duty at 70 checkpoints to control people travelling in and out, and took part in monitoring and supporting 38 COVID-19 vaccination and testing points in the district.

The district youth union also established 40 mobile teams with 120 volunteers using portable loudspeakers, and cycling two shifts a day to every residential area to disseminate regulations on prevention and control and update the pandemic situation in the city and across the country.

The youth union also mobilised 15 students who were studying or graduated from medical and pharmaceutical schools and living in the district to join the Volunteer Medical Student Team to support medical workers at the district health centre in tracing, testing and vaccination, according to Nguyễn Đức Ngọc, the youth union’s secretary.

Moreover, the union opened a call centre operating 24 hours a day with the task of receiving information to help people who were facing difficulties due to the impact of the pandemic.

Through the call center, the district’s youth and women unions have delivered 790 gifts worth more than VNĐ300 million (US$6,870) for needy people, youth and children in the area.

Supporting farmers

In Hoàng Mai District, there were 470 check points in green zones of 14 wards.

The Hoàng Mai Youth Union cooperated with other social unions and COVID-19 prevention and control units to support the local people.

The youth union's secretary Nguyễn Quỳnh Trang said: “We reviewed the list of labourers who were facing difficulties in the pandemic to provide timely support so as to contribute to ensuring social security and strengthening solidarity and consensus among people in the fight against the pandemic.

The youth union also organised connections between localities that needed to support agricultural product consumption with the people in green zones so that people could easily buy food, Trang said.

This also helped farmers in lockdown areas.

Recently, the union had helped to sell tonnes of longan and thousands of eggs for farmers in Thanh Oai and Mỹ Đức districts.

Trang said: “We received information from Thanh Oai and Mỹ Đức districts' youth unions that large quantity of agricultural products and fruits could not be sold to school and factory canteens and restaurants due to social distancing.

“We decided to connect and support the consumption of products for farmers of the two districts.”

Besides, there were 20 young people to voluntarily work as shippers to deliver the products to every household in the green zones in Hoàng Mai District.

"All the voluntary shippers were vaccinated and always complied with pandemic prevention regulations," Trang said.

“With the enthusiasm of the shippers, in just two days, Hoàng Mai youth union helped to sell nearly six tonnes of longan, 6,000 duck eggs, 100 ducks and 200kg of frogs from farmers of Thanh Oai District and one tonne of longan and 6,000 duck eggs for farmers in Mỹ Đức District.”

The youth of the capital city have been cooperating with authorities at all levels to protect the green zones and soon bring the city back to normal. VNS