Japanese expert admires Vietnam’s solidarity during pandemic

Hitoshi Mukai and other volunteers clean up a lodging facility for medical workers who come to support Bac Giang province to fight against the outbreak. (Photo: VietnamPlus)

“I have been working in Vietnam for six years. Vietnam is my second home, and I want to make contribution to stamping out the pandemic in the country”, said Hitoshi Mukai, a Japanese training expert at ICO International Human Resources Joint Stock Company.

As a COVID-19 epicentre during the latest wave of infections with increasing number of positive cases, Bac Giang province has called on local enterprises to arrange accommodations for medical workers coming from other localities to support the locals in their fight against the pandemic.

In response to the call, ICO International Human Resources Joint Stock Company, where Hitoshi Mukai works, set aside its staff and trainee accommodation zone for 142 doctors, medical workers and students from Thai Binh University of Medicine and Pharmacy and Hanoi Medical College.

Hitoshi Mukai was among ICO’s ten volunteers giving assistance to the frontline workers.

He joined in the cleanup and sanitization as well as receiving food for the medical workers every day. He started a working day at 5:30 am, while his break depended on workload of the medical staff.

There was a day that the volunteers like Hitoshi Mukai had to work until 2:00 am. However, they indulged in the mission with great fervour.

In the past two weeks helping medical workers with COVID-19 prevention work, Hitoshi said he understood their devotion to the mission as well as the immense hardship they have endured.

“They suffered from heatstroke as they worked non-stop in extreme conditions while wearing air-tight protective gears. Despite difficulties, optimism prevails among the medical workers. Looking at the way Vietnam confront and respond to the pandemic, I admire your marvelous solidarity”.

He also said he hoped that the pandemic will be snuffed out soon so that all people can return to their normal life.

Hitoshi Mukai, a Japanese training expert at the ICO International Human Resources Joint Stock Company (Photo: VietnamPlus)

These days, Bac Giang province has worked hard to control the pandemic and settle major hotspots.

With workers accounting for 80 percent of all COVID-19 cases, the provincial People’s Committee ordered the suspension of the Dinh Tram, Quang Chau, Van Trung and Song Khe – Noi Hoang industrial parks from May 18.

Currently, the most dangerous hotbeds are in Van Trung and Quang Chau industrial parks (IPs) in Viet Yen district where the number of infections has exceeded 1,500 since the latest outbreak occurred on May 8.

The factories are halted, while workers are sent to concentrated quarantine sites for COVID-19 testing and medical monitoring.

The province has defined its top priority of controlling and extinguishing major hotbeds in IPs, and recovering production of some enterprises in the IPs when the situation is more stable, with strict implementation of pandemic prevention and control measures.

Head of the Bac Giang Industrial Parks Management Board Dao Xuan Cuong said developing IPs has played an important role in Bac Giang’s industrialisation and modernisation process.

In recent years, the expansion of the IPs and attraction of investment in the areas have shown positive signs. In recent years, Bac Giang has entered top 10 localities nationwide in terms of investment attraction.

Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Le Anh Duong said that the prolonged closure of the IPs by COVID-19 will affect production activities, causing the disruption of production chains as many companies in the IPs are suppliers of enterprises across the world.

The province has coordinated with the Ministry of Health's special unit on support of COVID-19 prevention and control agency to gradually re-open the IPs in the pandemic situation, said Duong./.