On February 5, at Binh Xuyen District Medical Center, 40 km from Hanoi, the emergency department hall near the gate was divided into two to set up an examination point for acute respiratory infections.

Isolation area for people suspected of being infected with nCoV at Binh Xuyen District Medical Center, Vinh Phuc.

The mossy one-story building of the Department of Infectious Diseases located deep inside the District Medical Center is where Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh, 42 years old, is being treated.

The first time, on January 26, my cousin had a fever and stayed at home.

Two days later, on January 30, an ambulance from the Central Tropical Diseases Hospital parked in front of Ngoc’s house.

`I vaguely heard about a disease in China,` Ms. Thanh said.

As an electronic equipment assembly worker in a business in Binh Xuyen Industrial Park, on January 22, Ms. Thanh finished her last working day before the Tet holidays with a mild fever, sore throat, and hoarseness.

`The total time we met was less than an hour. If my resistance was good, I probably wouldn’t have gotten sick,` Ms. Thanh thought she was lucky because her symptoms of cough and fever had gone away after 7 days of quarantine.

Treatment area for patients infected with nCoV at Binh Xuyen District Medical Center, Vinh Phuc.

The house of Mr. Nguyen Minh, 25 years old, is right next to Dung’s house.

The day his friend was taken to Hanoi for treatment, Minh immediately told his wife to go to his mother’s house to stay temporarily, while he packed his backpack and clothes and drove to Binh Xuyen Medical Center.

`The biggest worry is that my wife is in her fourth month of pregnancy,` Minh confided, not feeling scared, just spending the whole day in a deserted, sad hospital area.

In the next room there were four girls, the same group of classmates in the commune as Ngoc.

Tam is a worker at Binh Xuyen Industrial Park.

`Tell your dad to feed you chicken tonight, along with cooking lots of vegetables and fruits, Miss Tam!`, a boy from the next bed ran to pull Tam’s sleeve.

The first day in the hospital was a tearful `separation`, the boy was unfamiliar with the bed, complained of boredom, and cried all night wanting to go home.

People being treated in Hanoi, people quarantined in Dong Anh, and Ngoc’s friends set up a chat group on social networks.

Nurse Nguyen Thi Huong, Binh Xuyen District Medical Center, wears up to 4 epidemic prevention masks.

Mr. Doan Duc Toan, Deputy Director of Binh Xuyen District Medical Center, said that among the 9 people quarantined at the center, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh who tested positive for nCoV has no fever and cough, and her health is stable;

The center has prepared 20 beds to isolate people suspected of being infected, and sprayed disinfectant in a radius of 300 m around the patient’s house and 57 schools in the area.

Director of Vinh Phuc Department of Health Nguyen Thanh Hai commented: `Binh Xuyen is the epicenter of the epidemic, in the next few days there may be more positive cases. We are determined not to be subjective but not too panicked either.`

The People’s Committee of Vinh Phuc province has a plan to establish a field hospital at Phuc Yen Regional General Hospital. If there are more than 200 patients, it will coordinate with the army so that Military Hospital 109 continues to expand the field hospital.

Vinh Phuc is currently the locality with the largest number of people infected with nCoV in the country, with 5 positive cases, of which 3 people are in Binh Xuyen district.

Thanh Lam – Tat Dinh

*Some character names have been changed.