Fan page “Covid-19 Updated Information for Foreigners in Vietnam”

Giap Bui Viet Anh, from Luc Ngan High School in Bac Giang Province is running a page Covid-19 Updated Information for Foreigners in Vietnam with over 11,000 followers.

Giap Bui Viet Anh

With English skills and a desire to know more about the world, the schoolgirl made friends with foreign people living in Vietnam. When the Covid-19 outbreak occurred, she saw that many of them were worried about the disease.

"About a month ago, many members in a Facebook group that I joined expressed worries about the fake news that was being spread about the Covid-19 situation in Vietnam," she said. "I realised their need to get updated and accurate information about the situation so I decided to look for the latest news from reliable sources, translate and share with my foreign friends. Receiving positive feedback from them, I decided to set up the fan page."

Besides daily updates on the number of new Covid-19 infection cases and treatment in Vietnam, the fan page also translates and publishes all the announcements and warnings from the Ministry of Health. The information is shared on the fan page just about 20-30 minutes after the news is published on the original sources.

As the page attracts more followers and the epidemic has become more complicated, Viet Anh invited some friends to join her. Now the fan page is operated by eight members including three foreign volunteers who help edit the news.

“At present, our page focuses on three categories including updating new infection and recovery cases every day, displaying travelling history of the patients, and sharing new instructions from the Government and announcements from the Ministry of Health," Anh said. "We have two people working on each category."

The eight team members that run the fan page

According to the fan page administrator, a foreign teacher, Christopher Knight, in Ho Chi Minh City is helping in answering questions from the public as he used to be an expert in analysing natural disasters and epidemics in the US.

The student also shared that they are posting five-seven news every day.

"As we all have to study and work, this is in fact our part-time jobs but we all love it," she said. "We usually have to stay up late to get the latest update news on."

When asked about the motivation for their continuing with the work, Anh shared that they were happy when their work helps lots of people.

"We are receiving calls from many people who boarded the same flights with Covid-19 patients to Vietnam," she said. "They asked us to help contact localities so that they can be quarantined and get treatment if needed." Dtinews

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