Hanoi has built safe family models with the spirit of “every citizen is a soldier and every family is a fortress against the pandemic”, which is aimed at raising the responsibility of each family in containing the Covid-19 given the serious situation of the pandemic at the moment.

Safety in every family

Dao Thi Lien from Dong Da District, Hanoi chooses to stay home and grows vegetables on her rooftop garden. Photo: Giang Dinh

During the time of the current social distance, Hoang Thu Thuy, a resident living in Hoang Dao Thuy Street, Cau Giay District, works online from home instead of going to the office as usual. Thuy told The Hanoi Times that her children also stay at home to prepare for the new school year. In their free time, they clean the house, cook, make cakes, read books or play games together.

Although they cannot go out and her children get bored, she always encourages them to stay at home and limit going out and contacting other people. She only goes to the market once a week and all other unnecessary businesses are paused.

“If I’m not careful, there would be a high risk of us getting infected, affecting not only our health but that of others around,” she said. “It is necessary for each person and each family to be aware of their own protection to avoid the spread of the disease.”

In fact, many families share Thuy’s view, and strictly comply with the measures of the government, the Ministry of Health, and Hanoi authority in pandemic prevention and control. However, many others are still careless about the disease.

There are a lot of people on the street and many of them go out for unnecessary reasons. Therefore, the authorities are raising people’s awareness of disease prevention to ensure the safety of families.

One of the leading localities in this task is Hai Ba Trung district where has encouraged citizens to sign up for the “Covid-19 safe families” Program.

Three days after being launched, the program received commitments from 79,212 over 80,350 households in the whole district to comply with anti-pandemic measures, reaching 98.6%.

These beautiful roses have been selected and are grown with a lot of care and dedication by Dao Thi Lien. Photo: Giang Dinh

Accordingly, each family follows the guidelines in the 5K message (face mask, disinfection, distance, no gathering, health declaration) at all times and everywhere as well as self-monitors the health of family members everyday.

People are also committed to staying at home after work and study, minimize contact with others, and avoiding visiting others’ houses, allowing other people to enter the house unless it is necessary, gathering in large numbers at home and in public, and going to pandemic areas, among others.

This is a practical activity to protect the health of people themselves, their families, and the community, and at the same time contribute to supporting the prevention and control force, which is on duty day and night, supervising the “red zone” and protecting the “green area” of Hai Ba Trung district.

Spreading the values of the family

These siblings in Cau Giay District, Hanoi join together to fix the home appliances during social distancing period. Photo: Jenna Duong

In Phuc Tho District, along with raising people’s awareness, protecting “green areas”, and ensuring the safety of people in the Covid-19 pandemic, the district also has the initiative to organize an online contest themed “Staying at home is being a patriot! The family members get more connected”.

The contest aims to raise the responsibility of each individual and family in complying with the social distancing rules and regulations on Covid-19 prevention and control as well as in creating opportunities for the bonding of family members

It also includes a publication contest in which the families send articles, pictures, or short clips about activities together at home such as watching a movie, reading a book, doing housework, playing games, taking care of flowers and plants, doing sports, singing, painting, playing the piano.  

“This is a good way to honor and preserve the happiness and affection at home of each family as well as the traditional cultural values of the Vietnamese families. It also fosters and spreads good family values in the fight against the Covid-19 epidemic,” said Vu Hong Hai, Deputy Head of the Culture and Information Department of Phuc Tho District.

According to Ngo Van Nam, Head of the Unit of Building Cultural Lifestyles and Families, Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports, the municipal culture sector is focusing on building family values associated with pandemic prevention and control this time. “With the strong participation of the whole political system and the cooperation of the people, we believe that the pandemic in the city and the whole country will soon be repelled,” he said.