Epidemiologists in the Covid-19 'storm'

"Go to every alley, knock on every door"

In Vinh City, Hong Son Ward is considered a place with many potential risks of Covid-19 outbreak and spread. Because in the area there are many crowded places such as wholesale markets, Vinh market, Vinh City General Hospital and the population density is quite high. Therefore, the Ward's Steering Committee for Epidemic Prevention and Control regularly disseminates to the Monitoring TeamsCovid-19The community closely follows developments to promptly handle unusual situations.

We arrived at Block 23 at the time when the Community Covid-19 Monitoring Team of the block was meeting to discuss and deploy tasks. The meeting was quick, after which the members went to the area to grasp the situation. The team was led by Mr. Dang Quyet Tien (Block Leader) and representatives of the Party Committee and organizations as members.

The Covid-19 community monitoring team of block 23, Hong Son ward (Vinh city) inspects business activities of essential goods during the implementation of Directive 16. Photo: Cong Kien

Block 23 is adjacentVinh market, most of the people are doing business, often in contact with customers, so the risk of Covid-19 infection is very high. Not to mention many citizens in the block work far away, many people return during the outbreak. That forces the members of the Monitoring Team to always listen and grasp the situation of the people residing in the area to come up with a solution.

When receiving information about people returning from far away, the Monitoring Team will assign members to each family to approach and verify the information. If the person returns from an epidemic area, the Team will make a report and send it to the Ward Steering Committee; if the person returns from a non-epidemic area, they will be asked to go to the Health Station to declare and self-monitor their health.

The Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control in Hong Son Ward (Vinh City) and members of the Covid-19 Community Monitoring Team of Block 23 investigate and collect information about households with epidemiological factors. Photo: Cong Kien

When many positive cases appeared in Vinh City, the Monitoring Team effectively supported the authorities in counting, tracing, and documenting cases related to infected cases (F1, F2, and F3). At the same time, they supported the arrangement and organization of testing locations for local people, and mobilized people to support the Epidemic Prevention and Control Fund.

Hong Son block (Hong Son ward) is located next towholesale market, where a large outbreak occurred in Vinh city, nearly 20 members of the monitoring team also worked at full capacity. Especially when the outbreak was right next to the area, the team "went to every alley, knocked on every door" to grasp the situation and asked people to make honest declarations. Thereby, 56 cases related to the wholesale market were identified, promptly classified, and reported to superiors for appropriate handling.

The Covid-19 community monitoring team of Hong Son block, Hong Son ward (Vinh city) visited each household to collect information about individuals related to the wholesale market. Photo: Cong Kien

The Covid-19 community monitoring team of Hong Son block, Hong Son ward (Vinh city) supports necessities for families in difficulty. Photo: Cong Kien

Although Hong Son ward is a high-risk area, it is currently doing a good job in preventing and fighting the Covid-19 epidemic. This is the result of the solidarity and consensus of officials and people, including the effective operation of 7 Covid-19 community monitoring teams. The teams have done a good job of propagating, raising people's awareness, and mobilizing support of over 200 million VND.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Lan Anh - Permanent Deputy Secretary of Hong Son Ward Party Committee

Together with Hong Son, the Covid-19 Community Monitoring Teams in wards and communes in Vinh City have performed well their roles and tasks in preventing and fighting the epidemic. Thanks to that, the epidemic is gradually being controlled, and life is gradually returning to normal.

Capture information from multiple “channels”

In rural and mountainous areas, there have not been many complicated outbreaks, but the worrying issue is that many citizens have returned from epidemic areas, leading to the risk of spreading and outbreaks. Along with the efforts of authorities at all levels and organizations, the role of the Community Covid-19 Surveillance Team is really important.

Members of the Community Covid-19 Monitoring Team in Tam Quang Commune (Tuong Duong) collect information from families whose members have returned from far away. Photo: CSCC

Nam Son Commune (Do Luong) recently had many citizens returning fromepidemic areaSince last year, 6 commune monitoring teams have been established and have been operating regularly, especially in recent months. According to Mr. Le Van Son, Head of the Hamlet 6 Community Covid-19 Monitoring Team, whenever someone comes back from far away, the members immediately go to their house to encourage them to make a health declaration.

For cases of home quarantine, the Team will post notices so that people can limit contact and regularly monitor compliance through many information "channels".

“The local monitoring teams rely on the Self-Management Teams and Inter-Family Teams to operate effectively. Each Self-Management Team usually has about 20 households living close to each other. All activities of the families are well-informed. When someone returns from an epidemic area or comes into contact with a suspected person, someone will report to the monitoring team. The whole commune has nearly 70 Self-Management Teams, which are the “ears” and “eyes” of the monitoring teams and the commune-level Steering Committee.”

Mr. Nguyen Van Hong - Chairman of the Fatherland Front Committee of Nam Son commune

Tam Quang is a border commune in the mountainous district of Tuong Duong, a locality with many citizens returning from epidemic areas (Bac Giang, Bac Ninh, Ho Chi Minh City). Up to now, the whole commune has more than 500 people returning from provinces and cities and all comply with health declaration and health monitoring quarantine.

Members of the Community Covid-19 Monitoring Team in Tam Quang Commune (Tuong Duong) post notices of families with members in quarantine. Photo: CSCC

The Commune Steering Committee and the Community Covid-19 Surveillance Team of the villages daily review each case.residential area, even each household to grasp the number of citizens returning with epidemiological factors, mobilize declarations and monitor quarantine. Members met, learned about the time and location of citizens before returning to their hometowns and regularly monitored families with people in quarantine.

“Thanks to the drastic intervention of the Commune Steering Committee and the active activities of the Monitoring Teams, the situation in the area has basically stabilized. Many citizens have completed their quarantine period, and currently there are only more than 20 cases remaining in centralized quarantine andisolationAt home, people are really assured to do business and produce" - Mr. Nguyen Hoang Son - Secretary of Tam Quang Commune Party Committee said.

Checking and monitoring people in quarantine are regularly carried out by members of the Covid-19 Community Monitoring Teams in Tam Quang commune. Photo: CSCC

Currently, Nghe An is one of the localities that has done a good job in preventing and fighting the Covid-19 epidemic. The outbreaks have been controlled, and there have been no cases of community transmission in recent days. This initial achievement comes from the joint efforts, including the contributions of the Covid-19 Community Monitoring Teams in each village and block.