Overseas Vietnamese feeling the heat amid the global pandemic

Overseas Vietnamese feeling the heat amid the global pandemic

Thu Hà, Minh Phương

While thousands of overseas Vietnamese have returned home over the past few weeks, many others are still living in places abroad ravaged by COVID- 一 九.

Some have decided to stay where they are due to family and work co妹妹itments.

Others believe they may have left it too late to return, fearing they are more likely to contract the coronavirus if they were to make the journeys now.

As the world struggles to cope with the pandemic, those who find themselves thousands of kilometres away from their motherland have seen their lives turned upside down.

“I’m very worried, not only about the disease but also about its impacts on my job, food supplies and necessities within the next month,” said Nguyễn Thị Hương, who has lived in London, the UK with her husband and son for nearly two years.

Hương had flu-like symptoms a few days ago but when she called the hotline of the National Health Service, all she was told to do was self-quarantine at home with her family.

“I am not sure that I am infected or not but luckily I am feeling better now.

“Here, not all cases are treated in hospitals because the number of cases are too high. When you call hospitals or hotlines, there are automatic messages telling you how to self-quarantine at home, take flu pills and take care of yourself if you have some suspected symptoms.

“When the symptoms worsen such as shortness of breath or high fever, then the medical staff will be sent to your place and certainly then you will receive treatment.”

Italy is the country that has seen the most deaths because of the virus.

Lâm Anh Dũng, an IT engineer, lives with his wife in Milan, the epicentre of the pandemic in Italy. He is due to become a father later this year.

With the country almost completely locked down, the couple is struggling to decide whether they should go to the hospital for regular maternity check-ups or stay home for their safety.

“If you want to go out, you have to fill the form of the Ministry of the Interior. You can go to the markets, buy medicine and necessities as usual. Supermarkets are always full of stock to provide for everyone.

“Like everyone else I was frightened at first. However, scientists also say that if we strictly follow the government’s guidance, this disease won’t be that scary, so we should not be too afraid,” Dũng said.

Lâm Anh Dũng (left) and his wife in front of their apartment building in Milan, Italy. Photo courtesy of Lâm Anh Dũng

In the US, which has overtaken China and Italy in the number of cases, Linh Lê is also feeling the pressure.

Linh has lived in Maryland for  一0 years with her husband and son.

Due to the lockdown, she and her family mostly stay at home but she is still scared of infection.

“I'm worried. I don't go out and meet people but we can’t tell whether there is virus on objects or not.

“Every day I still receive mail and packages I buy online. When receiving them I will spray sanitiser and leave them in the garage for two days before daring to open them,” she said.

Simple tasks taken for granted in the past like shopping now cause concern as panic-buying has become co妹妹on.

Linh added: “The supermarkets here are running out of eggs. I only have one package at home now and don’t know if I can buy more later.

“I bought three bags of rice for three members of the family, and also flour. If we run out of rice I can make noodles, vermicelli or dumplings to eat.”

Hương in London is feeling the same unease.  

“In London, a lot of people also hoard food, even much more than in Việt Nam,” she said.

“Before supermarkets issued a policy to limit the purchased amount, almost all shelves were empty by the end of the day. It is such an awful experience.”

Another major concern for the overseas Vietnamese is the risk of losing their jobs.

As the pandemic is taking its toll on the global economy, more businesses are closing, plunging people into a state of uncertainty.

Just last week, a record  三. 三 million people in the US filed for unemployment.

“On top of the disease, everyone here is worried about jobs. If this lasted for a long time, many businesses would shut down and fire staff,” Linh said.

“Generally speaking it’s very stressful. My husband is working for an IT company and there is a high risk of not securing new contracts. So it’s very stressful for him.”

“A friend of mine, who is a retail broker, has nothing to do now as everything is shut down.”

However, all three families Việt Nam News spoke to have no i妹妹ediate plans to return to Việt Nam at the moment. — VNS

 

Nguyễn Thị Hương, London, UK