A soldier serves a meal to a pregnant woman in a quarantine centre. — Photo nld.com.vn

QUẢNG NAM — More than 200 pregnant women are currently being looked after by medical workers and soldiers at a quarantine centre.

The 229 pregnant women are among 343 Vietnamese repatriated from Taiwan (China) due to the COVID-19 pandemic on May 29.

They are staying at a quarantine centre in Bình Phục Commune, Thăng Bình District, the central province of Quảng Nam.

Happy return

The 343 Vietnamese citizens were allocated a five-storey building which is normally a students’ dormitory, with the pregnant women living on the lower levels for their comfort.

Every person who enters or exits the centre must fill in a security declaration and strictly implement disease prevention measures.

Trần Thị Hằng Nga, 27, from the central province of Hà Tĩnh, is in her sixth month of pregnancy.

She said that life in her hometown was hard, so she and her husband decided to work abroad.

Being afraid of giving birth in a foreign territory where she lacks both material and emotional comforts, she decided to return home.

“I could not sleep the night I heard I would be among the people being helped to return to Việt Nam,” said Nga.

Phạm Thị Ninh, 34, from the northern province of Hải Dương, has worked in Taiwan with her husband for the past four years.

When she was four months pregnant, she became unemployed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The couple was very worried because they were jobless and could not come back home. After a long time of hoping, they were very happy when the Vietnamese Government helped them repatriate.

Ninh said that all of the pregnant women were given clear and cool accommodation and were taken care of by medical workers and soldiers.

“We are served three meals per day, enough nutrition with meat, fish, rice and fruit. I’m grateful for all the competent authorities for having allocated the flight to bring us home. I’m very lucky,” said Ninh.

Second lieutenant Lê Ngọc Tịnh, a soldier of the Quảng Nam Military Headquarters, has become a firm favourite among many of the women.

Though he is bathed in sweat in his protective clothing, he happily carries the pregnant women’s luggage.

Tịnh said that if one were to count his steps, they would see he walked dozens of kilometres daily to look after people in the quarantine centre.

Despite the hard work, Tịnh and other soldiers at the centre are happy to help pregnant women.

Colonel Nguyễn Quyết Chiến, deputy chief of staff of the Quảng Nam Military Headquarters, said that after learning the unit would welcome 343 repatriates, including many pregnant women, the unit worked with Đà Nẵng City and Quảng Nam Province authorities to prepare.

Their staff is made up of 64 people including medical workers and soldiers responsible for serving the 343 citizens, so everyone has hard work to do, but they all do their best.

“We see that fighting against the pandemic is like fighting against the enemy, so we create the best condition for the residents,” said Chiến.

Delivery

Nguyễn Văn Văn, deputy director of the Quảng Nam Department of Health, said of all the 229 pregnant women, 42 are in the seventh month, 10 are in the eighth month, and one is expected to give birth next Monday.

The provincial health sector has set up a task force team with 12 doctors and nurses in case someone gives birth in the quarantine centre. — VNS