The story of two teachers in Nghe An who volunteered to go into centralized quarantine with students

The decision was not easy.

More than 2 weeks ago, on September 7,Que Phongunexpectedly became the “center” of the Covid-19 epidemic when positive cases reappeared in the community in Cho hamlet, Tri Le commune. The first patient at that time was a 44-year-old man, a driver on the fixed route Que Phong - Vinh. Immediately after that, the cluster of cases continued to appear with the patient being his wife and three children in the same family…

The students in the centralized quarantine area are all primary school students. Photo: NVCC

The day before, on September 6, at the Primary SchoolTri Le1, two of the family's three children went to school to attend the first class of the new school year. As soon as the new case was discovered, panic and anxiety covered the Cho hamlet and parents whose children were studying at the school.

After nearly a day of screening and screening, more than 100 close contacts of F1 cases were sent to centralized quarantine in the town and Tri Le Secondary School for Ethnic Minority Students. The remaining 52 elementary school students who were classmates with the two young patients were also scheduled to be quarantined because they met each other on the first day of school.

Taking samples for testing from students at the centralized quarantine area. Photo: NVCC.

At that time, the decision to quarantine the students was necessary but the implementation was not easy because the students were all very young (32 students in class 2A1 and 20 students in class 5A2). The first plan had 7 parents volunteering to go with their children. However, because the quarantine could last for many days (in case of patient F)), more people were needed to support the students in care, daily activities and handling other situations... so the most optimal plan was to have teachers come in to support the centralized quarantine area.

In over 20 years of working, teacher Ha Thi Dung - a teacher at Tri Le 1 Primary School - has never encountered a situation like this. However, in the difficult circumstances above, she did not have much time to think and asked the school principal to put her in isolation with her students.

Recalling her decision, she said: My children are all grown up, so they understand the dangers of the epidemic and were initially very worried about their mother. As the breadwinner of the family, I also understand everyone's feelings, so I thought a lot. But then, at that time, I only thought about my students and felt sorry for them because I live with them not only at school but also near their homes, so I understand each student's situation. If there is no one to accompany the children, they will have a very difficult time.

Peaceful life of students in the quarantine area. Photo: NVCC.

Together with her colleague, teacher Ha Thi Dung, teacher Ha Thi Kim also made the decision to enter.centralized quarantinewith the children very quickly because "32 students of class 2A1 were my homeroom students last year". In that context, both teachers seemed to have no time to prepare anything. Packing up their personal belongings, handing over the housework to their husbands and parents, the two teachers began their 14-day quarantine journey at the centralized quarantine area at Tri Le Kindergarten...

The luggage also cannot lack story books, textbooks and reference books. These will be the "spiritual food" for teachers and students to overcome the days of isolation - separation from the outside world.

Special days in the Quarantine Area

Before welcoming students to the centralized quarantine area, the Tri Le Kindergarten was urgently cleaned by the authorities and arranged with some necessary tools such as blankets, mosquito nets, and mats. Here, the students will be arranged from 7 to 8/person/room, with one parent or one teacher in charge.

A student in a centralized quarantine area. Photo: NVCC

Every day, in addition to managing students and limiting contact between rooms, teachers and parents also take on the job of "nanny" such as getting food for the children, reminding them to eat, drink, and do activities according to the prescribed time... In the remaining time, the children will entertain themselves by reading stories, reading books... If the lesson is difficult, the students will ask, the teacher will explain and answer but only from a distance.

Despite careful preparation, no one could have predicted the stories that arose in the quarantine area. In the first days, many students were away from home and their parents for the first time, living in a completely new environment, so every night they sobbed, refused to sleep, and refused to eat. In the case of little Lo Kieu Oanh (whose father died early and whose mother married far away), she lived with her grandparents. Due to her special circumstances, when she first entered the quarantine area, Oanh seemed to cry every day. Later, her grandparents borrowed a phone to send in and call her every day, and Oanh gradually got used to her new life.

Story books are companions of students. Photo: NVCC

Even though the living problems were solved, the fear of the epidemic also made everyone panic. “The first 3 nights I stayed up all night without being able to sleep”…teacher Ha Thi Dung recounted the first days in the quarantine area.

It was also three days that teachers, students and parents anxiously awaited the Covid-19 test results after the first sample collection at the centralized quarantine site. When the negative result was announced, joy was overwhelming.

The centralized quarantine room is fully equipped with living facilities. Photo: NVCC

In the following days, on average, teachers and students would be tested once every few days. Every time there was a schedule to collect samples, teachers had to do "ideological" work because many students were afraid of the needles of medical staff and refused to cooperate. Then every time a student had a runny nose or a headache, everyone was also afraid because maybe it was a sign of Covid-19...

The situation of 52 students at Tri Le Primary School is special, many of them are from poor or near-poor households. In some cases, at home they only eat vegetables and bananas... In the quarantine area, they are given three meals a day, with full nutrition, but they are not used to it, and every night they complain of stomach aches and have to call the nurse.

As a young teacher without a family, the days living with students in the quarantine area were memorable days for teacher Ha Thi Kim. Once, she went to take attendance for the 2nd grade students on the 2nd floor, saw her and her students "crying", and wanted to rush into her arms. However, at that time, the teacher and students had to stand more than 1 meter apart, only knowing how to encourage each other through words. Here, from boys and girls who were only 7, 8 years old, after a few days of getting acquainted thanks to the teacher's guidance, they were able to be independent, wash their own clothes, fold their blankets...

Special Mid-Autumn Festival in the Quarantine Area. Photo: NVCC

This is also the first year that the teacher and students have a special Mid-Autumn Festival... This year's Mid-Autumn Festival has no lion dances, no feasts, but the teacher and students still feel warm because there are still Mid-Autumn lanterns, and meaningful gifts sent in by uncles and aunts from outside the quarantine area...

The Mid-Autumn Festival is also the last time the children complete nearly 14 days in quarantine. Before receiving the decision to go home, without teachers reminding them, they voluntarily cleaned up their clothes, books and counted every minute waiting for the kindergarten gate to open...

Teacher Ha Thi Kim took a photo in the quarantine area. Photo: NVCC

Returning home, the epidemic was behind us, teachers and students of Tri Le 1 Primary School had memorable days where the children were warriors and the teachers were truly kind mothers...