During recent peak days fighting against the COVID-19 wave in Da Nang, besides ‘frontline soldiers’ like medical workers, police and army forces, there are many outstanding examples of pandemic prevention and control bringing up the ‘rear’. Amongst them are many strongly-dedicated students from the University of Da Nang (UD) who should also be dubbed as ‘unsung heroes’ in the tough combat against the deadly virus.

Before embarking on volunteer work, students of Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy at the University of Da Nang are well trained in COVID-19 prevention and control. Photo: NGOC HA

Staying calm in the novel coronavirus ‘storm’, Nguyen Van Thanh Khoa, a 22-year-old student at the Faculty of Literature, the University of Education under the UD, regardless of the hardship and potential dangers facing him, has put aside his personal affairs to join practical pandemic prevention activities at the Hoang Sa Junior High School in Tho Quang Ward, Son Tra District, which is now used as a temporary quarantine site.

In fact, wearing a stuffy suits all day in such hot weather makes it hard to breathe, sometimes to the point that is unbearable. However, such an unpleasant feeling cannot discourage the young man from carrrying on work.

Like other volunteers, every day, Khoa does all kinds of tasks such as distributing portions of meals to the quarantined, collecting garbage for appropriate disposal, receiving supplies from the quarantined people’s relatives, and helping the medical staff here conduct body temperature measurements on the sequestered and do many other volunteers activities.

“As I received sincere thanks from the quarantined for my good deeds, all fatigue seemed to disappear. At this time of hardship, people can still feel each other’s warmth even though they can’t be close physically”, Khoa said in pride.

This is the second time that Khoa serves as a volunteer at a temporary quarantine site, following the first time in August 2020 when Da Nang became a major COVID-19 epicentre in Viet Nam.

In a similar supportive move, Tra Hung Nguyen, a fifth-year student from then Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy at the UDN has also joined a voluntary team serving at the An Hai Tay Ward Medical Station in Son Tra District.

Every day, the student has to wake up early in the morning, do personal hygiene in a prompt fashion, put on a stuffy protective suit, and then embark on his tasks.

Nguyen tasks himself with answering all questions raised by residents by phone on COVID-19 situations and support functional forces to conduct epidemiological investigations into confirmed coronavirus cases.

“I don’t think anyone should just wait for their turn. Rather, no matter where they are and where in the age spectrum they sit, everyone should be working together to reach the common goal of completely repelling the terrible virus. We can't do big things due to our ages, but we can do the best by carrying out simply yet highly practical deeds for the community”, strongly affirmed Nguyen.

Creating the most favourable conditions for students to participate in volunteer work, UD’s member schools have guided students to comply with mandate rules against COVID-19 so that they can stay safe and sound whilst performing tasks.

In particular, the volunteers were instructed on how to properly wear masks and personal protective gears and do the sampling for COVID-19 testing, and conduct other necessary skills.

According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Anh, Deputy Secretary of the UD Youth Union organisation, many UD students, mainly those from the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, have enthusiastically registered to work as volunteers at COVID-19 prevention points. Their active engagement, indeed, demonstrates their high sense of responsibilities towards our community.

Reporting by NGOC HA – Translating by A.T