A female health worker at Hoà Minh Ward Health Centre faints due to overworking during COVID-19 pandemic. — Photo suckhoedoisong.vn

ĐÀ NẴNG — A female health worker in Hoà Minh Ward, Liên Chiểu District, Đà Nẵng City fainted when arriving at her workplace on Sunday morning after days of tracing people who had contacts with confirmed COVID-19 cases and helping them to go to quarantine areas.

The 48-year-old Đặng Thị Thu Hà has worked at the Hoà Minh Ward Health Centre for nearly 20 years.

After three COVID-19 cases were confirmed in the ward, for more than a week, she and her colleagues have meticulously traced people who had close contact with COVID-19 patients and supported quarantine work.

On August 1, Hà worked from early morning to 9pm, said the head of the ward’s health care centre Võ Thị Nga.

Nga said that during this time, health workers barely had any time to take a rest and very often skipped meals because there was so much work to do. 

Hà said that she was exhausted and had not adapted to the changes in workload and daily routine in the last few days as Đà Nẵng became the hotspot of coronavirus in the country that previously underwent months without local community infection.

“When I arrived home on Saturday evening, I was too tired to have dinner. My husband encouraged me a lot and said he would drive me to work as I looked so tired,” Hà said.

When arriving at the health care centre the following morning, Hà fainted. She was given oxygen support.

Answering a telephone call on Tuesday, Hà said she felt much better now but she was taking some days off.

“When my health condition is okay, I will come back to work, continuing to fight against the COVID-19 pandemic,” she said.

On Tuesday morning, the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control said the total number of infections confirmed in Việt Nam reached 652, of which 307 were imported.

As many as 205 community transmitted cases have been detected and linked to Đà Nẵng City since July 25. The pandemic has claimed eight lives in Việt Nam so far, all older patients with chronic health issues. — VNS