Vinh City teacher puts aside 'personal feelings' to volunteer to fight the epidemic

Wife just gave birth and volunteered to go to hot spot

Quarantine stationNo. 9 on National Highway 1 - intersecting with Nghe An Lung Hospital is considered a hot spot among 13 anti-epidemic checkpoints in Vinh city. At 9:00 a.m., when the outside temperature is approximately 40 degrees, the number of vehicles needing to pass through this area is still very high. Looking from Vinh city, long lines of vehicles from the North are waiting to pass through the checkpoint. On this side, vehicles from the South are also continuously going out without stopping...

Since Vinh City implemented social distancing according to Directive 16, the number of people going out on the streets has decreased significantly. However, at this important point, there are still many people who need to go in and out every day... Just stopping vehicles, checking documents, and Covid-19 test results is already a huge amount of work...

Quarantine checkpoint on National Highway 1. Photo: MH.

Being on duty for 3 days and working from 6am to 12pm in the morning, teacher Phung Ngoc Thach - teacher at Nghi Kim Secondary School almost never has a day off.

The task of the teacher and his colleagues is to directly control vehicles leaving the city and guide people who need to travel to strictly follow the regulations on social distancing: Every day, people come and go continuously. People passing through the checkpoint also follow the regulations very seriously, before passing through the checkpoint, they all prepare a Covid-19 test certificate. However, not all certificates can pass because they may have been tested the day before... We have to explain thoroughly - Mr. Thach shared.

Every day, many people pass by this road. Teacher Phung Ngoc Thach's job is to check people's papers. Photo: MH

In fact, it is easy to say, but to fulfill their responsibilities, teachers also have to face many difficulties, and there are many cases of "loud voices" and "bullying" due to people deliberately not understanding. After 3 days of working at the anti-epidemic checkpoint with the Mobile Police and Traffic forces, Mr. Thach realized more about the hardships and believed that his decision to volunteer to fight the epidemic was completely correct. "My wife just gave birth to a baby nearly a month ago, so at first I was hesitant. But then, I thought, the epidemic is still prolonged. The work of fighting the epidemic is still very difficult. If I try a little, I will contribute a small part to my hometown..." - Mr. Thach confided.

There are many reasons people have before asking to go through quarantine checkpoints. Photo: MH.

Due to its special nature, the checkpoint in Nghi Kim is also the checkpoint with the largest number of reinforced teachers - 9 people. Every day, the teachers are divided into many groups, each group has 2-3 people and take turns to be on duty 24/7. Working day and night, standing under the hot weather of 40 degrees, in just 1 day, all the brothers on duty at the checkpoint got sunburned. On their dark faces, sweat covered their faces, soaking through the two layers of masks.

Teacher Dau Van Tuyen - teacher at Truong Thi Secondary School said: Every day, hundreds of long-distance vehicles running from North to South pass through this checkpoint and our task is to strictly control vehicles passing through the epidemic area. Fortunately, at this time, everyone knows the dangers of the epidemic so most of them cooperate... Personally, before going to the epidemic area, I knew it would be difficult, but I am lucky to be able to go home every day. Our work is nothing compared to other forces on the front line against the epidemic...

Although newly reinforced, the teachers all strive to complete their work well. Photo: MH

Ready to take on the mission

Teacher Tran Tien Thanh and his wife - Doi Cung Primary School have been there for more than 10 yearsplugin Muong Tip commune - one of the most difficult communes of Ky Son district. 4 years ago, Mr. Thanh was transferred to Vinh but his wife is still staying. Because of the long distance, she can only come home twice a year and summer is the longest time that the whole family can reunite.

The family has 3 children, the youngest is still young, so a few days before the announcement about mobilizing teachers to join the front line of epidemic prevention, Mr. Thanh jokingly texted, "Please let me stay home near my wife and children for a few days." But, right after that, he volunteered because "the school is mainly female teachers, if I don't go, who will take care of it"...

National Highway 46 is a route with a fairly high volume of traffic and is home to many industrial parks. Photo: MH

Working at the same point with Mr. Thanh at the checkpoint of National Highway 46B (Cho Gia bridge) is teacher Nguyen Van Phuc - Hung Dong Primary School. Their circumstances are similar, Mr. Dong's wife is also teaching at Quy Chau Secondary School for Ethnic Minorities, and the couple and their children only get to see each other once in a while...

Since the day they were on duty together, the two of them had many opportunities to talk to each other. However, they did not have much free time, because the Gia market bridge was a route that shared two industrial parks.Bac Vinh Industrial Parkand VSIP Industrial Park - every day there are many vehicles passing by with many different subjects. Teacher Nguyen Van Phuc also shared: Previously, workers could stay in Hung Nguyen and go to work in Bac Vinh Industrial Park, which was normal. But now that there is a separation, workers cannot go to work and they are also very anxious. There are people who have gone in and out of the checkpoint up to 6 times asking to go to work. We know the anxiety of the people but still have to encourage everyone to stay at home to limit the epidemic...

Teachers reinforce the checkpoint on Highway 46. Photo: MH

At the Nghi An checkpoint adjacent to Nghi Truong commune (Nghi Loc district), teacher Nguyen Manh Cuong, a teacher at Dang Thai Mai Secondary School, along with his colleagues and the authorities, are straining to control passersby. His wife is also a teacher and his two children are still young. However, when the city had a policy of increasing teachers to the front line of epidemic prevention and control, teacher Cuong did not hesitate to go. "The medical staff have worked too hard. I am on summer vacation and my house is in Vinh city while the city is having an epidemic, so not only me but all my brothers and sisters are willing to contribute a small part of our efforts to help the city fight the epidemic," teacher Manh Cuong confided.

Teacher Nguyen Manh Cuong - Dang Thai Mai Secondary School (striped shirt) and colleagues on duty at the checkpoint.

Sharing the same thought, teacher Hong Canh An, who is on duty at the checkpoint of Provincial Road 535 bordering Nghi Duc - Nghi Thai (Nghi Loc district), is one of two teachers from Hung Loc Secondary School present in the army of teachers "going to battle" against the epidemic this time. He said that the main task of the checkpoint will be for police officers to check and control people and vehicles entering and exiting. In cases where they are allowed to pass the checkpoint, the teachers will guide them to make medical declarations and take their temperature. In addition, local forces such as commune police, youth union, militia, etc. will also participate in other tasks. "I am very proud to be on the front line, contributing to the anti-epidemic forces so that the city and province can soon be at peace," teacher Hong Canh An confided.

Teacher Hong Canh An (wearing a hat) receives meals from groups supporting the epidemic prevention checkpoint.

Working in the hot midday sun, but Mr. Phuc, Mr. Thanh, Mr. Cuong, and Mr. An still do not consider it hard work, because "our work is only supportive, not too hard. The functional forces are still harder. I also do not know when I will carry out my duties, but my colleagues have determined that we will only rest when the city's lockdown is lifted."

Up to this point, 100 new teachers mobilized by Vinh City People's Committee have been reinforced to all key points in the city. This is a rather special force, mainly teachers who are teaching at primary and secondary schools in the area. In addition, there are some cases of specialists from the Department of Education, some are vice principals of schools such as Mr. Le Quang Hung - Hung Chinh Primary School. Because of their young age, most of the reinforced teachers have young children, some have both husband and wife on the front line such as the teacher at Dang Thai Mai Secondary School.

Among them are also female teachers or medical staff assigned to quarantine areas. Ms. Le Thi Thanh Ha - a medical staff of Ha Huy Tap 2 Primary School, has been on duty at Ben Thuy 1 Bridge since the first day Vinh city implemented social distancing: "I and another colleague from Truong Thi Primary School are on duty together, but the workload is still overloaded. Every day we have 2 shifts, the day shift is hot, the night shift is stressful. But compared to the frontline forces in the industry, constantly wearing protective gear to take samples, test, treat patients... we still have less work."

Two school health workers are deployed at Ben Thuy bridge checkpoint. Photo: MH

Since joining the fight against the epidemic, she has had to rely on her children to do the housework because her husband is away on a business trip. Meanwhile, her son is in 12th grade preparing for the important high school graduation exam... Her daughter is also following in her mother's footsteps, graduating from the medical school and working at the Ho Chi Minh City Post Office Hospital. During this time, the mother and daughter are on duty continuously so they cannot talk much. However, whenever there is an opportunity, the whole family encourages each other: Our family is trying together, just hoping that the epidemic will pass, life will return to normal...

These days, Vinh city continues to be hot and sunny... And at the epidemic checkpoints, the forces are still working hard, not afraid of difficulties, not afraid of hardships with the belief that tomorrow the homeland will be peaceful!.