Mater Unitatis nuns prepare personal effects for Covid-19 patients quarantined at their daycare center in Bac Giang province. (Photo courtesy of Mater Unitatis Facebook)
Church workers and nuns in northern Vietnam are providing shelter and basic supplies for Covid-19 patients as they work with others to contain the pandemic.
Since May 16, sisters from the Mater Unitatis Association in Bac Ninh Diocese have worked with local government authorities and reserved their daycare center as a quarantine center.
Nuns wearing medical clothes have volunteered to provide health care for 71 patients. They also give them sanitizers, face masks, toothbrushes, handkerchiefs and other personal items.
The daycare center is near the nuns' mother house in Quang Chau commune in Bac Giang province's Viet Yen district. The association has 100 members providing educational and health services.
“We do our duty for our loving God, our people and nation,” one nun said.
She called on people to pray for them to have good health and peace so that they can serve people in need well.
They have become Covid-19 epicenters since the fourth wave of the pandemic hit Vietnam on April 27
On May 12, Father Francis Xavier Nguyen Van Thang from Bac Ninh Bishop’s House and Caritas workers from Nam Vien Parish visited three isolated places in the districts of Thuan Thanh and Tien Du in Bac Ninh province.
They offered milk and bottled water to health workers and local people.
On May 18, the northern provinces of Bac Giang and Bac Ninh reported 474 and 293 locally transmitted coronavirus cases respectively. They have become Covid-19 epicenters since the fourth wave of the pandemic hit Vietnam on April 27.
Many hospitals including the Military Medical University have sent hundreds of staff members and tonnes of medical supplies to tackle the coronavirus outbreak in the two provinces.
On May 17, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said the latest outbreak is rapidly spreading among industrial zones where health workers have little experience in fighting the pandemic. The source of the outbreak is from outsiders, many of whom entered the country illegally.
Chinh asked authorities to fight the deadly pandemic as an enemy. People should wear face masks, wash their hands, avoid public gatherings, keep a safe distance from others, make health declarations and get vaccinated.
The Health Ministry said the government would get 31 million Covid-19 vaccine doses made by US-based firm Pfizer and Germany's BioNTech Inc. this year. It has cut deals to acquire about 110 million vaccine doses.
The Southeast Asian country has confirmed 1,425 infections in 28 cities and provinces since the first cases of the fourth wave were detected on April 27. Among them, an old woman and a 34-year-old man died.
Vietnam’s 27 dioceses have restricted their religious activities and urged Catholics to obey preventative measures from health authorities so as to contain the pandemic.