Common concern

           The situation of Covid-19 epidemic is currently more complicated in the world as well as in Vietnam, lecturers and international students had a certain interest and awareness about the disease. Mr. Pyo Guknam, the volunteer teacher from South Korea said that he has been very careful: “I often follow daily news about epidemics in Vietnam, Korea and around the world, my teaching schedule is delayed due to the epidemic, while others are as usual. Festus, the student from Africa, felt a bit more worried: “I’m very concerned about the disease, I feel a bit worried because the disease is spreading so fast. I work at the lab so luckily it is unaffected, but the feeling that someone might be infected is uncomfortable. ” In the contrary to Festus, Yuko Kobayashi, a Japanese volunteer, is more positive. “I know about the disease but I am not too worried. I think young and healthy people will recover quickly, just like you have the flu! ”.

              Trusting in disease prevention measures in Vietnam

              All three teachers / students said that they had received recommendations from the Vietnamese authorities sent by the University via email. Ms. Kobayashi herself also received information of epidemic situation from the Embassy of Japan and SMS messages from the Vietnamese authorities (unfortunately she could not read it because she did not understand Vietnamese). Both Ms. Kobayashi and Mr. Pyo Guknam said that Vietnam in general and NTU in particular are doing very well to prevent the virus from spreading. “I see the measures that NTU is very good. I will be more careful, which makes me more reassured ” said Mr. Guknam. In the same opinion, Mr. Festus said that “NTU's measures to deal with the COVID-19 epidemic are very clear and if we follow the measures, the risk of infection will be limited. These measures are very important and helpful to me, but it is needed to ensure that the measures are taken seriously". In addition, Ms. Kobayashi also stated her opinion: “I think washing my hands frequently is an effective method. Vietnam is in good control, if you are old and have many health problems, you should be especially careful ”.

        In particular, the song "Ghen Cô Vy" (a Vietnamese propaganda song of Covid-19 prevention) and handwashing dance are very popular to foreign teachers and students: "Yaaa! I always listen to the song played at my dorm. I think it's a very smart way of propaganda because so many young people love music. Like any other country worldwide, Vietnam is making effort to eliminate COVID-19, and to achieve that requires everyone's role. Everyone should understand the information given by the government and follow the recommended measures ”said Festus