The sound of brooms in the quarantine night in Vinh city
(Baonghean.vn) - The bamboo broom made dry strokes on the pavement. The whole street was deserted, only the sanitation worker was working silently in the night.
Vinh City implements the phasesocial distancingThe second time in 2021 has been 20 days and 14 days of lockdown of all residential areas with the view "wherever you are, stay there", during this time the streets are unusually quiet.
At night, apart from the specialized forces on duty at the checkpoints, some officers and workers on essential duties return late, leaving only the urban environmental workers still spread out across the streets cleaning as usual.
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| A long street, usually very busy, where urban environmental workers sometimes have to work while paying attention not to be hit by cars, is now deserted and deep. Photo: Tien Dong |
Ms. Cao Thi Ly, a worker of Team 4, on duty on Nguyen Sy Sach Street, said that during the days of the city's quarantine, the streets were deserted, and there was no garbage generated at restaurants and hotels, but garbage in residential areas increased. Normally, every day she starts her shift at 6:30 p.m. and finishes sweeping at around 0:30 a.m. and waits for the truck to come and pick up the garbage. When she finishes her work and returns home, it is just morning.
The entire Nguyen Sy Sach street stretches from the intersectionVinh Stationdown to the intersection with Le Viet Thuat street, there was not a single person or vehicle passing by, only Ms. Ly diligently sweeping each section of the street, picking up each pile of trash.
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| A long street has only one urban environmental worker working in a quiet space. Photo: Tien Dong |
"Normally the city is always crowded with people until late at night, sometimes you have to sweep while paying attention to the front and back, in case a car hits you, but these days it's been quiet, even though it's safer, it still feels deserted," Ms. Ly shared.
In the nights of social isolation, along the roads, every house has its doors locked early. On duty on the roads from Nguyen Phong Sac, to Phan Dang Luu and then down to Nguyen Viet Xuan are Ms. Le Thi Bich Hoan and Ms. Tran Thi Thao, both of whom are arranged to go on the same route. This route is quite long and winding, so even though it is the same route, Ms. Hoan and Ms. Thao each sweep at one end, from the time they start their shift until they finish sweeping, pushing the cart to the gathering point next to it.Vinh University of Technology and Educationthen meet
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| After sweeping and collecting all the trash on the assigned route, Ms. Hoan and Ms. Thao had to gather the trash at the collection point to wait for the truck to come and pick it up. Photo: Tien Dong |
Ms. Thao is from Nam Dan and rents a room in Hung Loc commune. During the pandemic, the route they are in charge of has more household trash. Every night, it takes several trucks to take it all away. The road is quieter, but every night, it takes 4-5 am to get home to rest.
Days of implementation of Vinh CityDirective 16 is one level higher.Because she lives in a rented house, Ms. Thao also has a lot of difficulty in stocking up on food. Although she goes to work every day, the market and shops are closed, and she only buys food through the neighborhood, so preparing food is a bit difficult.
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| Even though it is a time of social distancing, the amount of household waste people produce is greater, so when they finish their work, the environmental sanitation workers return home when it is just dawn. Photo: Tien Dong |
Amidst the roar of the excavator pushing the trash to a corner to wait for the truck to come and pick it up, Ms. Hoan confided that sometimes working in the dark is scary. Even though she is not a frontline force fighting the pandemic,Covid-19But the sisters are always aware of their profession. Working at night during the quarantine days, the streets are deserted, the sisters always encourage each other to try to complete the assigned work and area well.
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| After cleaning the route they are in charge of, they have to stay and wait for the truck to come and pick up the trash, and push the garbage cart to the collection point before they can leave. Photo: Tien Dong |
Mr. Phu Van Phuong - Director of Nghe An Urban Environment and Construction Joint Stock Company shared: At the time when the whole Vinh city implemented social isolation, to ensure environmental sanitation, the company also had to maintain a workforce of 300 workers in 9 departments, tasked with sweeping, collecting and transporting garbage to the treatment site.
During the quarantine days, although the restaurant and food stall system was closed, the amount of garbage was still the same as usual, about 320 tons/day and night. In addition, the company also assigned a team to collect garbage in the city's quarantine areas, about 40 tons/day and night.
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| Late at night, only the sanitation worker passed by the checkpoint. Photo: Tien Dong |
According to Mr. Phuong, working in concentrated quarantine areas is a place with a high risk of exposure, so the company had to arrange a separate team and be equipped with additional necessary protective equipment. This team was also arranged to work independently, limiting contact with other members of the company. After collecting garbage at quarantine points in the city, they were arranged to eat and rest in one place to ensure safety.
In addition, for workers who have houses outside the city, the company also had to arrange "3 on-site" accommodations, renting motels for workers to live and eat together.
"Although the Covid-19 epidemic is very complicated at this time, we are determined that regardless of day or night, the urban environmental workers will complete their tasks, clean the streets and ensure environmental hygiene and health for people, while still strictly complying with epidemic prevention and control measures, keeping themselves and the community safe," Mr. Phuong further emphasized./.