This month, Som Rong pagoda in the Mekong Delta province of Soc Trang has raised 12 tons of rice, 2,000 USD, 1,000 boxes of noodles, and many other essentials to help local Khmer ethnic people weather the crisis. The Vietnam Buddhist Sangha in Soc Trang has also donated 500 packages of rice and other necessities to people in quarantine areas. 

The Central Highlands province of Kon Tum will soon receive 1,000 people returning home from HCM City, Binh Duong, and Dong Nai province which are being hit hard by COVID-19. Among the returnees, ethnic minority people have the priority for assistance. 

A Đinh, Vice Party Secretary of Ro Koi commune, said. 'We have been preparing to receive people returning from pandemic-hit localities. We have arranged quarantine camps 30 km from downtown, with beds, electricity, and water. '

The central province of Nghe An has delivered tons of essential goods to help ethnic minority people in Chieu Luu commune, where most stringent social distancing measures have been imposed following the Prime Minister’s Directive 16. Each family has received 10 kg of rice, peanuts, facemasks, and fresh milk. 

Zero-dong kitchens and zero-dong stores are being set up in many localities to provide free meals and foodstuffs to disadvantaged people. Quang Van Thang of the northern mountainous province of Son La, expressed his appreciation for the aid he received from the zero-dong store set up at the provincial hospital.

'I’m very happy to have received aid from the store. It reflects Vietnamese spirit of the haves helping the have-nots. During this pandemic, these are spiritually meaningful gifts,' said Thang. 

Minister and Head of the Committee for Ethnic Minirity Affairs Hau A Lenh recently presented 22,000 USD to Nam Po and Dien Bien district in Dien Bien province to help ethnic minority people affected by the pandemic. More than 13,000 USD has also been delivered to ethnic minority people in quarantine camps in Bac Giang province.