The silent, noble sacrifice of the 'warriors' at CDC Nghe An

In the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, along with the whole country, our province has been facing many hardships, difficulties and challenges. The images of the frontline forces against the pandemic have left deep impressions in each of us about their noble sacrifices and bravery, constantly overcoming difficulties and dangers to take care of people's health, bringing peace to every home, every region. And, the cadres, medical staff, doctors - the "White Shirt Soldiers" who, day by day, hour by hour, are on the frontline of the Covid-19 pandemic prevention and control, are one of the concrete evidences of the spirit of "Forgetting oneself for the people", "Sacrificing for the people"...

For many nights, CDC staff, doctors, and nurses stayed up all night to quickly collect samples and trace. Photo: CDC Nghe An

At the Provincial Center for Disease Control - the "brain" of Nghe An's Covid-19 testing system, more than 200 medical staff have been working around the clock. Since the Covid-19 epidemic broke out in our province, the "white-shirt soldiers" have been racing every minute, every hour and working with 200-300% of their strength to fight this war.

CDC Nghe An leaders are always the first to arrive at epidemic sites to join other leaders in making the quickest decisions to immediately deploy anti-epidemic work. Photo: CDC Nghe An

In the middle of the hot summer, always wearing tight protective suits throughout their working hours, they rushed to the "front" day and night with the spirit of determination and unity to "fight the epidemic like fighting the enemy". They both took samples and received samples from localities in the province for testing. From the reporting team, the monitoring and tracing team to the testing team, everyone worked like shuttles, operating at full capacity.

During the outbreak, working groups continuously received orders to march at night. Photo: CDC Nghe An

The reporting team regularly updates information and data from district and hospital levels to analyze which cases have been quarantined and sampled, and vice versa, and informs the responsible units for monitoring and tracing...

The testing team is always ready 24/7, even working through the night to collect samples of high-risk subjects and community screening subjects, avoiding missing suspicious subjects. When necessary, they mobilize more doctors and nurses from hospitals to contribute, each night they can collect up to 6,000 samples and then race against time to analyze the test results as quickly as possible. Invisible pressure always weighs heavily on every soldier here. Whether in the laboratory or in the epidemic area, they face many risks, the risk of infection is always latent.

From one outbreak to another, many doctors and nurses rarely have a moment to rest. Photo: CDC Nghe An

Every day, thousands of samples are brought to the Provincial Center for Disease Control for confirmation testing. As soon as they receive samples from local medical units, the center's medical staff immediately begin their work. Behind the laboratory door, technicians are always diligent and dedicated to getting the results as quickly as possible, because they understand that the health sector and countless people are waiting for test results. Each test sample that produces results is the result of their efforts and countless drops of sweat that soak their protective suits.

Technicians must wear tight, hot protective gear and sit for hours in the laboratory at CDC Nghe An. Photo: CDC Nghe An

According to the medical staff here, the moment the results are released is also the time they feel most nervous. The emotions of joy when the results are negative and sadness and anxiety when the results are positive come to them every day. Everyone just hopes that the epidemic will be pushed back, peace will come to the people and normal life will soon return.

When a new case is discovered, the tracing monitoring team immediately meets, assigns tasks to investigate and trace to ensure the fastest way to investigate cases in contact with the case. Then, there is smooth direction for units to prevent the spread, avoiding further spread. Because of work, the "white-shirt soldiers" forget about their own health, spending long sleepless nights. Boxed meals are eaten in a hurry, even going to the toilet is rare. Day by day, their rest time becomes less and less, rare. There are people who are exhausted, fainting from working hard for a long time... But then just a few days later, they are still determined, continuing to strive to carry out their duties.

There were many nights of non-stop work, many people fell asleep at their desks. Photo: CDC Nghe An

....or take a quick nap right at the sampling site. Photo: CDC Nghe An

The characteristic of the Provincial Center for Disease Control is that there are many women and young children. Therefore, many doctors and nurses could not hold back their tears when they could not fulfill their duties as children when their parents were sick, their hearts ached seeing their babies crying for their mother's milk. They were heartbroken about the health of their loved ones but could not be there to take care of them. And many fathers and mothers who were busy with their duties could not be there to encourage their children in the upcoming important exams... They and their beloved families had to sacrifice their inherent happiness for this fierce war. Overcoming all, the "white-shirt soldiers" of the people have wrapped up those feelings and hidden them in their hearts to continue to stand steadfastly in the fight against the Covid-19 epidemic, which has no end date in sight.

"Every battlefield is arduous, every battle has losses and sacrifices; you are truly "white-shirt soldiers" who are devoting yourself to carrying out your noble mission as taught by beloved Uncle Ho" - this is part of the commendation letter from Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh to doctors, nurses and medical staff on the front line against the Covid-19 pandemic.

And that is also the thought and feeling of each of us towards the noble dedication and sacrifice of the cadres, doctors and nurses on the front line of preventing and fighting the Covid-19 epidemic.

To "share the fire", express gratitude and help doctors, nurses and technicians to reduce hardships, dangers and difficulties, and soon return to reunite with their families when the epidemic ends, each person should raise their awareness and responsibility, and join hands to repel the epidemic. Strictly comply with and propagate and mobilize relatives to implement the "5K" recommendations of the Ministry of Health and regulations of competent agencies, thereby preventing infection for themselves, relatives, colleagues and the community. At the same time, actively participate in contributing with Covid-19 prevention and control teams in the community so that the stronghold of epidemic prevention from the grassroots level can promote the highest efficiency./.