Expats face a difficult time amid the COVID-19 outbreak in Vietnam | Society

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Matt Ryan uses his free time during the lockdown to cook and deliver free groceries to the frontline workers. (Courtesy photo by Matt Ryan)

Hanoi (VNS / VNA) – While Vietnam with the fourth outbreak of the COVID-19 Pandemic, expats thousands of miles from their homes have turned their lives upside down.

Adaptation to the new situations with strict Distance regulations is not easy for anyone, let alone for foreigners who have no family to support and who do not speak Vietnamese.

With strict restrictions in place in many places, a simple matter like shopping for groceries can prove to be a daunting task.

Adrian John Leeds, a British man who lives in Hanoi’s Hoan Kiem district, said he struggled to purchase groceries in the early days when the city applied strict Policy 16 social distancing in late July.

“It was really tough at the beginning of the lockdown,” he told Vietnam News.

“The only place where I could safely buy food was my little grocery store. But they ran out of food very quickly and all that was left was ‘student food’ like pasta and sausages.”

This caused him to lose three kilograms over a month.

Fortunately, over time, the problem resolved when the store finally replenished and he was able to buy more groceries to meet his needs.

Adrian has lived in Vietnam for three years, works as a photographer and founder of a design consultancy.

Prior to the COVID, he said he would travel to other Southeast Asian countries regularly for work and pleasure.

Now he mostly stays at home and only goes shopping once or twice a week and even couldn’t meet his Vietnamese fiancée in person for six weeks, even though they don’t live too far away from each other.

In the middle of the gloomy days, a nice surprise happened to him that warmed his heart. On September 3, local officials came to his home to give him a COVID-19 aid package – a bag full of essential groceries, health supplies and VND 500,000 (US $ 22).

“I am very pleased with the support I have received, even if it is a small gesture,” he added.

“I wasn’t expecting anything. I did not feel forgotten. It seems like the government wants to take care of their expat community. ”

Unlike Adrian, Chris Saint, an Australian retiree who lived in Hoi An, had no problem buying groceries.

But for him the main problem was access to accurate information.

Chris cited the fact that most of the agency’s decisions and orders are made in Vietnamese without an English translation, while many expats cannot speak the language.

“Expats are often in the dark when it comes to the details of government actions,” he said.

As a place that has seen a rapid surge in COVID infections, Hoi An began social distancing orders under Decree 16 on July 31.

“The first week of the lockdown there were issues due to a lack of clarity,” said Chris.

“Many foreigners rely on information from social media as their primary source of information.”

As the administrator of a Facebook group for expats in Da Nang, Hoi An and Hue with nearly 10,000 members, Chris shared as much information as possible, especially from official media posted in English “to promote factual information”.

He added that another problem many expats face is financial hardship.

Chris personally does not bear this burden as his family has their own savings to get through this difficult time.

But following his observation, he said it was a real problem for many expats who had lost their income and did not have the reserves to feed themselves for long periods of time.

Matt Ryan, a British owner of a restaurant in Thu Duc City, Ho Chi Minh City, also lost his regular income as his restaurant had to close for months amid the severe COVID outbreak in the southern economic hub.

His shop wasn’t allowed to reopen until September 8th when the city eased some restrictions, but he and his staff are still struggling to keep it going given the lack of input materials.

For Matt, however, this is a small price the country will have to pay to contain the pandemic and get society back on its feet. “It’s tough, it’s really tough,” he said.

“But our city is facing an unprecedented emergency and they think the authorities are doing best to get it under control and protect the hospitals from becoming completely overburdened.”

Though his business was disrupted, Matt didn’t waste time. He and his staff at the restaurant decided to prepare free meals for the frontline workers in town.

Thinking positively is the way he masters this challenging period.

“We have to be strong, take care of each other and stay positive as best we can. That too will pass, ”he said.

Matt also appreciates the government’s efforts to support the expat community.

He and his wife both had their first vaccination, which was ordered by the local authority.

“There was no difference in the procedure for obtaining the vaccine between locals and foreigners,” he said.

Chris Saint also feels blessed to be in Vietnam now. “I feel safe where I am thanks to the efforts of the government and the people on the front lines. Safer than in my own home country, ”he said.

Like Matt, Chris spent time doing it Charity work to provide free food to poor people in his neighborhood.

“Could life be better? Absolutely. There has never been a better time than now to appreciate what you have, ”he said.

“People have to put health and family above everything else. Prosperity must wait. ”/.

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