Close-up of garbage collection in the blocked area in Vinh City

As of July 9, Nghe An has had 130 positive cases of Covid-19 in 10 localities, of which Vinh city has the most cases with 88 patients. After each announcement of a new case, the patient's residence and workplace are locked down to serve the purpose of sampling, investigation and tracing, and people are "not allowed to go in or out".

Sanitation workers must wear protective gear to work in locked-down areas every day. Photo: QA

During the blockade, in addition to the medical force and soldiers on duty, there is still a force that has to enter the blockade area every day, which is thesanitation workersThey face the risk of infection because they are in dangerous areas and have to work under more stringent conditions than usual.

Ms. Nguyen Van Anh, a worker at Nghe An Urban Environment and Construction Joint Stock Company, was surprised when she was assigned to collect garbage in the blocked area in Hung Dung ward, Vinh city on the first day.

She shared: "I have been working in this profession for many years, but this is the first time I have had to wear protective gear to work in a locked-down area. On hot days, the outside temperature reaches 40 degrees Celsius, wearing this outfit has made me lose a lot of strength, reducing my productivity. However, to ensure the safety of myself, my family, and my colleagues, I have to accept it...".

It is known that, according to the company's instructions, the garbage collection team in any area where there is a Covid-19 infection case must still enter the area's blockade to clean up the garbage during the day, because the stagnant garbage will create conditions for the virus to spread. Therefore, the team members have divided their work to enter.blockadeperform daily tasks.

Garbage collection in the blockade area takes more steps and manpower than in other areas. Photo: QA

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh, an environmental sanitation worker, said: "Everyone is hesitant to enter a locked-down area, but because of work, they have to accept it. Before entering, workers will have to wear protective gear, spray disinfectant all over their bodies, and go to every corner to collect trash. Because people do not go out, the amount of household trash is somewhat larger, sometimes it takes until 2 a.m. to collect it to get home...".

According to the leader of Nghe An Urban Environment and Construction Joint Stock Company, garbage collection in the blockade area has many special features compared to normal areas. The company must increase collection vehicles and human resources because of new stages. For example, previously only 1 person 1 vehicle was needed to collect garbage on the roads, but now there must be a separate specialized vehicle, the number of collectors must be increased and at the same time there must be more people to spray disinfectants.

In addition, the garbage treatment process is also more complicated. When bringing garbage to the complex, the amount of garbage in the blockade area must be treated, a separate burial pit must be dug, all protective gear of workers must also be buried together, before burial, it must be sprayed with disinfectant and covered with lime powder to ensureabsolutely safe

Many sanitation workers had to stay in Vinh City to work during the epidemic season and were not allowed to go home. Photo: Duc Anh

It is known that during the time Vinh City implemented Directive 16, about 200 environmental sanitation workers had to stay in Vinh City to work and were not allowed to go home. After Directive 16 ended, garbage collectors in the blockaded area had to continue to stay in Vinh to ensure community safety because they were in a dangerous area.

Understanding the hardships and silent dedication of environmental sanitation workers during the epidemic season, Nghe An Urban Environment and Construction Joint Stock Company and other benefactors have had many activities to support workers such as supporting the cost of renting accommodation at motels and boarding houses for workers, providing food, food, funding... to give them more motivation to perform their tasks well during the epidemic season, ensuring clean and beautiful streets, contributing to preventing the spread of Covid-19.