(Photo: thanhien.vn)

Hundreds of young people in Quang Ninh province have helped doctors visit every house in the community to trace contacts, collect test samples, and man check points to collect medical declarations. Ha Thi Tuyet Trinh, a medical student, knows there are risks involved in volunteering during an epidemic and that she will have to be in quarantine for 21 days, but she still wants to do her part.

'Students and teachers at my university volunteered as soon as a call was made. We were nervous but determined to respond to the epidemic. In Dong Trieu township in Quang Ninh province, my friends and I and my teachers helped to trace more than 1,000 households,' says Trinh.

In Ha Long city 200 youngsters helped people in lockdown and quarantine areas and workers manning checkpoints.

In remote villages in Dak Lak province, youth union organizations have implemented diverse and creative communications activities to raise the local people’s awareness about disease prevention and control. Using a mobile phone and loudspeakers, they travelled around villages urging people to practice disease control measures such as washing their hands, disinfecting their houses and public areas, and wearing face masks.

Nguyen Huu An, Secretary of the Youth Union in Cư Dliê Mnông commune, said, 'It’s effective to use mobile loudspeakers for communications because we can enter the small alleys in every village to give people timely information about disease prevention. We communicate in two languages, Vietnamese and Ede. We try to make our messages simple and easy to understand.'

Young people in cities and provinces nationwide have gone to markets and other public places to distribute leaflets, spray disinfectants, and give away free face masks.