A few days have passed but I am still in shock. My English teacher asked me if I ever experienced major events that changed my life. At the time, I answered no because I found my life peaceful. But then Ms. Vy (Cô Vy = Covid) came along…
Before the Lunar New Year holiday, a Chinese colleague said, “I’m going to my hometown, but my hometown is experiencing a serious disease and it is close to being called an outbreak”. I laughed and said "don’t go home, stay here to celebrate Tet!” I never thought Ms. Vy would affect my life in any way. After Tet, everything still felt normal and talked happily with each other as always.
The company began distributing masks and hand wash to everyone and told us to wash their hands more often. So, of course I followed this carefully.
Now we’re in March: Although I had been on leave and working elsewhere earlier in the week, on Wednesday (March 18th) I went to work and had a small meeting about a new shoe. After discussing some design options, I decided to run into the two shoe shops in the afternoon to find a reference. Even going into the shop, I felt nervous - despite wearing a mask and washing my hands.
The next day, I went to the tax office with my husband to help him with annual tax finalization before the deadline. Everything was normal. The next day, I went to work as normal and went to buy take away noodles on the way home. At that time, the shop was empty.
With the situation becoming more serious, the company asked us to work from home. My husband also told me not to go to the gym. Everything was still normal even though we were spending most of the day indoors.
That night, some of my colleagues started to worry because news broke about a number of infected people, including one that we had worked closely with in the company. Suddenly, the virus was on our doorstep! I started to pack my things into a suitcase because I knew I had had contact with him and would have to go to a quarantine camp (as per Vietnamese law). In the evening, HR staff called me to confirm what I already knew. We informed the local medical team and they said they would come by first thing in the morning.
When I got up in the morning, I called the building manager who said he already knew and told me to prepare because in about 30 minutes, the medical team would come to my house.
I kept calm and packed my clothes and personal items. An hour later, there was a knock on the door. The two men wearing blue hazmat suits stood there. First, they sat down and asked me to list everywhere I had been and everyone I had seen since coming into contact with the confirmed case. About fifteen minutes later, we were escorted to an ambulance waiting downstairs. At that time, the neighbors were surpised. Someone even filmed me getting into the ambulance! After that, another group of people went into our house and disinfected the whole place …there was a policeman too!
The ambulance left our building, sirens wailing – not sure where we were going. After 20 minutes, we arrived at a military school. Someone sprayed the ambulance on arrival and sprayed the two guys to disinfect them and then led us in. Here, they asked me again about the places I had been and people I had met.
Then, they assigned us a room with 2 bunk beds, each with a bamboo mat, a duvet cover and a small inflatable pillow – but no mattress! When I finished unpacking, I went to the toilet, the remnants of the previous raids were full of toilets. I told the guard about this, only to be given a bottle of bleach and a brush. So, my husband worked to clean all 6 toilets!
From the time I entered the camp, I kept receiving phone calls from all levels of medical team, the tax office and the bank, asking the same series of questions: where did I go, who did I meet, whether or not I wore a mask, whether the person I spoke to was fat or thin…
Later on, they gave us lunch. This was a Vietnamese lunch with rice and 3 kinds of meat, fish and egg. I found it very good actually.
After eating, I replied to everyone’s messages. In the afternoon, I could walk a little but my mood started to turn and I felt tired.
After dinner, I decided to take a shower. The bathroom was designed for military boys who only need to wear shorts to go to and from the shower. The cubicles were small and had nowhere to leave clothes, so if you bring dry clothes in they will get wet. I went to and fro, deciding whether or not to take a shower. Or have a shower with my clothes on and get changed it later?! Eventually, I just went for it.
At night, I could not sleep, my mind racing and my back hurting.
If it’s just going to the camp for 1-2 nights, it’s a small thing, but being here for a week would probably be unbearable. I wanted to cry.
In the morning, I went to the bathroom, swept the toilet again, and then, I was given breakfast. Broken rice with pork and eggs. Delicious!
After eating, I asked if it was possible to change quarantine camp because I had heard that there was a quarantine hotel that I could stay at for a fee. They said it was too difficult because we had already come in.
I went back to my room and started crying. I thought about when I was at home, I could have just stayed there. However, staying here for a week with no sleep, I would be sick for sure.
It was then, one of my friends posted a link on Facebook with the information I had declared to the staff about everywhere I had been and everyone I had seen. Many people commented; “so worried, so scared” “she is just wandering around everywhere!” Honestly, if it was not for work or if I had known the risk to everyone, I would certainly have been at home. Even still, I always wore a mask and washed my hands properly, and I stayed far away from people. I told the truth about my movements to the “professionals” and it got shared online.
The phone rang again and the call was like yesterday. Someone even had another form to send for me to fill in my name, date of birth and the phone numbers of all the people I met. Oh my god I don’t know!
At noon, I was told that I could move to another place because my husband is a foreigner.
Back in the ambulance! We arrived and checked into what was an average but nice hotel. We started having lunch. While I was eating, the medics called me to go down and asked the same questions – where I had been, who I had seen etc. Next, they told me to wait in my room to take the test sample. I put away my lunch.
The two men dressed in hazmat suits came up to my room and took a throat swab and blood sample. From that moment I started to worry. Fear of getting sick and being the first confirmed Covid case in the province. I started to think again about the places I had been. People will hate me. The optimism disappeared again … another long night without sleep …I was counting a herd of sheep then another one. Later on, I started pray for us, I begged Buddha and my dad for help. I still couldn’t sleep.
The following afternoon, the same woman from the bank who had been calling to ask for my information told me that she had heard I was ‘negative’ even though I did not know anything or did not hear anything from the medical people (it is true that money always comes first!). About 6 pm, I saw an online newspaper article that said all six suspected cases from my company were ‘negative’. I breathed lightly but still worried. Maybe it’s not me? I called the guy who took me the day before, he said he did not know because his boss had not informed him. The next day, when the medics came to take my temperature, I asked when I would have my result. She replied ‘oh, your result is negative.’ But my heart was still thumping because the newspaper often posts unreliable gossip.
Every day here, I got my temperature checked twice by hazmat suits. I ordered meals by phone and collected them some time later from an empty room. A simple menu with three breakfast dishes and three lunch/dinner options; 3 types of braised meat (pork belly, ribs, pork leg), soup and stir-fried vegetables.
Every day, my friends and colleagues texted me, encouraged me and offered support. My boss, PT, asked me if every night if I slept well. I also texted to check in with the colleagues that I had contacted to. They were doing well and so I was happy.
My family also worried about me – calling and texting every day. My sister also went back to my home to pray for us. My younger sister also checked on me every day.
While I was still in the army school, my colleague, Hung, helped me buy some necessary stuff, especially delicious tangerines and hand wash just at the right time.
HR staff texted me to ask what I needed even though she knew my place was far away.
My husband’s company HR was also eager to take care of us.
After having been in quarantine, I have two new friends and a bigger network of contacts working in Binh Duong. I changed my Facebook name but I can’t change it back now! After 5 days of insomnia, I can sleep well now. Although I still have to stay home for a while, I am happy to follow the rules.
I am writing this down to save a beautiful memory of this feeling. Hope everyone stays healthy and limits their going out to avoid a scary situation.
