While many are working remotely from the safety of their homes, frontline squads of kitchen and food supply staff have risked exposure to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) serving sizzling, nutritionally balanced meals to those quarantined at military camps in Vietnam over the past few months.

Alongside medical staff working on the front line whose relentless efforts are key to saving lives in the face of the ongoing pandemic, essential supply and delivery workers are also an important driver of the country’s battle against the virus.

Among them are kitchen and food distributing staff who are working almost around the clock to prepare and serve meals to people kept in isolation at military camps in Hanoi, the mountainous province of Lao Cai – approximately 320 kilometers to the capital’s north – and the central city of Da Nang.

Vietnam mandates that everyone arriving from abroad goes into quarantine for at least 14 days – the advised incubation time of the novel coronavirus – upon arrival.   

The tireless dedication of the military personnel responsible for the running of these facilities has warmed the hearts of the people being quarantined and brought smiles to their faces during the isolation period.

The soldiers’ routines include getting up early in the morning, shopping for food, and preparing meals for their guests.

After delivering steaming breakfast portions to quarantine chambers at a time when many are still sound asleep, they have little free time to spare before quickly getting down to preparing lunch and dinner.

The men normally end their day past 10:00 pm, ready for a good night’s sleep before repeating the work on a different menu the following day.

Meanwhile, the soldiers in charge of food services at the quarantine zone set up at Hanoi Capital High Command’s Military School come in two groups – one tasked with preparing and portioning meals into boxes in the kitchen and the other responsible for distributing the boxes to rooms.

The quarantined people are more than thankful for the clockwork-like service.

Some express their gratitude to the staff for their efforts with heart-warming, meticulously penned thank-you notes while others walk away with gratefulness in their eyes upon their discharge as the isolation period draws to an end.

“Heartfelt wishes from the women of Room 19-3 to those on the mission. Short as it may be, the 14-day isolation period is enough to overwhelm us with good feelings for you,” one of the notes reads.

“May you stay safe and well to continue the nation’s fight against the virus so that we all can keep our faith and not be gripped by fears,” reads another note from a person who went through quarantine at a training facility for military reserves run by the Da Nang Military Command in the namesake central city.

The country’s tally now stands at 241, including 150 active cases and 91 recovered patients as of Monday morning, according to data pooled by Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper. No fatality has been recorded as yet.

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