HÀ NỘI — It’s not the first time Nguyễn Văn Chiến has been sent on a mission, but it is the first time he has been stationed at a quarantine zone to prevent a pandemic.

Chiến is head of the Hoàng Mai District Police in Hà Nội. He is among more than 100 personnel working at six supervision stations and a patrol team at quarantine centres to prevent COVID-19 from spreading.

Since the middle of March, they’ve been working at the Hà Nội Vocational College of High Technology in Tây Mỗ Ward, Nam Từ Liêm District, and the Pháp Vân-Tứ Hiệp Students’ Zone in Hoàng Liệt Ward, Hoàng Mai District.

The first they did upon arrival was set up staff rota to ensure all the work is covered.

Chiến said when the first batch of students and foreigners from affected countries arrived at his zone on March 19, it was a massive influx and there was a lot of work to do.

After a long tiring trip, they were all exhausted and it was difficult to communicate with them due to language barriers. Using  sign language, they managed to show people where to queue up and complete all the procedures needed to enter the quarantine zone following Ministry of Health regulations.

On that day, they finished work at 2am after settling 200 people into the quarantine zone.

But their duties were not over. They still had to keep a close watch on the zone to stop people leaving or others entering, while dealing with those who did not follow the regulations.

Chiến said the Pháp Vân-Tứ Hiệp Students’ Zone had about 500 rooms with beds for about 4,000 people.

For a quarantine zone this is good, but the officials still had to ensure security. With such a large number of people, accommodation arrangements had to be thought out carefully to ensure their property and safety.

Sleepless night

Captain Đinh Văn Cường's phone rang at 4am.

The caller was a member of the steering committee for COVID-19 pandemic prevention and control.

He was informed that a foreigner in quarantine had refused to follow regulations and was demanding to leave.

Cường patiently convinced the man so that he understood, but by the time the man had agreed to go back to his room it was already broad daylight.

Despite all these obstacles, they are still doing their best to fulfill their tasks with determination to control the COVID-19 pandemic and ensure everyone is safe. — VNS