As Vietnam confirmed the 13th novel coronavirus (2019-ncov) patient on Friday, Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper’s reporter followed staff who have been spraying disinfectant at public places in the Mekong Delta region to help stop the virus' spread.

Nguyen The Phuong, a 27-year-old staff at the Preventive Medicine Center in Thoi Binh District located in the southernmost Vietnamese province of Ca Mau, told Tuoi Tre that disinfectant spraying is no easy work.

According to Phuong, the backpack disinfectant sprayer is not only heavy but also leaves much more pressure on the shoulders when it is in operation as disinfectant coming out the tank generate an opposite push.

“I did not even have an appetite for meals after I did it for the first time,” Phuong said.

Nguyen Anh Diep, a colleague of Phuong, said that the disinfectant has a very unpleasant odor and dries out people’s throats when they breathe it in.

“My throat felt dry even with my protective suit on when spraying the disinfectant,” Diep told Tuoi Tre.

During their work, the staff said they are often unable to breathe naturally, taking only very short breaths and then breathing out slowly, Diep explained. 

As their medical mask gets soaked with sweat while spraying disinfectant, it becomes even more difficult to breathe, Diep explained.

Phuong and Diep said their team visits several venues a day to perform the disinfection work.

Staff mix Cloramin B, a disinfectant, with water before spraying at a venue in the southernmost Vietnamese province of Ca Mau. Photo: Khanh Tran / Tuoi Tre

Staff mix Cloramin B, a disinfectant, with water before spraying at a venue in the southernmost Vietnamese province of Ca Mau. Photo: Khanh Tran / Tuoi Tre

The novel coronavirus, which first surfaced in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019, has killed 724 people and infected nearly 34,900 globally as of Saturday, according to the South China Morning Post.

It has since spread across mainland China and to 27 other countries and regions, according to a Reuters report.

Vietnam has so far confirmed 13 cases of the virus, including ten Vietnamese, one Vietnamese American, and two Chinese.

Among them, one Chinese and two Vietnamese had fully recovered and been discharged from the hospital as of Thursday. They were all treated for free.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the new coronavirus a public health emergency of international concern.

A staff member puts on a protective suit before spraying disinfectant at a venue in the southernmost Vietnamese province of Ca Mau. Photo: Khanh Tran / Tuoi Tre

Staff mix Cloramin B, a disinfectant, with water before spraying at a venue in the southernmost Vietnamese province of Ca Mau. Photo: Khanh Tran / Tuoi Tre

Staff mix Cloramin B, a disinfectant, with water before spraying at a venue in the southernmost Vietnamese province of Ca Mau. Photo: Khanh Tran / Tuoi Tre

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