We are coming to the end of our second week of lockdown here in Da Nang. Unfortunately, it would not be the end. Measures here have been more severe than our first lockdown, yet things still seem spiraling further away from containment. When I awoke this morning, we had sad news, the nation lost its fifteenth patient to the disease, and lockdown restrictions were to be tightened even further. It’s just an overwhelmingly depressing situation. A rogue case is announced on the 100th day of being virus-free, and no deaths. We find ourselves two weeks later with hundreds of cases and fifteen deaths, while the numbers continue growing by the hour.
This time it has been much harder on us. Both emotionally and mentally. It has just been harder on everyone. I think it is the unknown aspect of where this particular outbreak came from. Massive efforts have been made to round up illegal entries, the current suspected source, but the original carrier still has not been identified. That person may have never shown symptoms, could still be in the community, or long gone. This has put the authorities on edge, especially with the rapid spreading of infections.
What Lockdown Looks Like This Time
In the first lockdown, we had pretty open freedom of movement as long as it was to purchase food. Many larger restaurants remained open for delivery services, which at least gave you some variety and the ability to order an occasional pizza. This time that is not the situation. All restaurants are closed, and they have begun issuing time slots and days households can shop and at which locations. A tactic meant to limit crowds.
Military personnel have increased patrols of streets. Often blasting orders from trucks with massive speakers, explaining the situation and to remain inside. They also visited us to confirm our identities and check our papers. With the city on an isolated lockdown from the rest of Vietnam, they wish to know the whereabouts of everyone in Da Nang. So an informal census was taken.
Huge programs have gone into effect to sanitize the city. Late last week, the disinfecting brigade came through our neighborhood, spraying everything on site with disinfectant. And the interior of homes where infected patients live. Military school cadets are being mobilized to contact trace and collect test samples. It’s a serious situation, and it has caused authorities to take what they call “unprecedented measures.” The first lockdown cases were still relatively low, and doctors knew the origin of each case. This time is very different.
Click Here for a video of the sanitation efforts. To put this in perspective, the opening scene of the clip is a block from our apartment building.
A Mutation
It has been reported that one of the reasons this outbreak has occurred so quickly and lethally, is that the virus has mutated. Several reports have come from the Ministry of Health, that this strain is not the same as the original one that entered Vietnam in January. This strain seems to be more contagious and more difficult to treat. Studies on the new strain over the past couple of weeks show an infection rate of between 5 and 6, whereas the first strain showed a rate of 1.8 -2.2. This infection rate is essentially how many people in the community an infected person could additionally infect.
This makes sense, as with lighter restrictions back in March and April, we never made it past 200 community infections and 0 deaths thru late July. In the last 15 days, with much more severe restrictions, we have had 416 new cases and 15 deaths. The majority of those numbers are in Da Nang. That is a very sobering reality. I know these numbers may not seem very substantial, especially given the size of the outbreak in other countries. But it is substantial and significant for the entire world.
A Wave of Sadness
What gives me great pause in all of this? Vietnam is a country that has done everything involving this outbreak right. Borders have been closed since March, lockdowns, social distancing measures, mass testing, quarantine camps, and the mobilization of the military to combat the spread. It has been a very impressive thing to live through and see. Yet, in the end, they could do nothing to stop it. No amount of diligence, care, concern, action, or commitment could prevent the inevitable. When the first patient died, a wave of sadness washed over me, over all of us. It just felt like a failure for us all. I sensed that the proverbial floodgates had opened, and a wave was coming that no one knew the extent of.
A Realization of the Truth
I think the most difficult aspect of this is the future. With international flights set to resume just days after our first new case in months was announced, it was not to be. The fragility of this whole situation is becoming more apparent. A world that looks like 2019 may never come again. It would appear the days of free movement worldwide are over, and if you plan to visit a foreign location, it may be for the long haul. Even if the new outbreak is contained, I can’t see a world where places like Vietnam don’t require a 14-day quarantine period for all visitors.
This reality also puts many visa questions to task. Governments worldwide have stalled, or suspended visa processing, including the US. This puts me in a winless situation. If I go back to the US, it may be nearly impossible to return to Vietnam. But as it now stands, my wife could not come with me, and it could now be years before she can. But that doesn’t matter right now. We are on lockdown, and it was months after the last infection was recorded the first time before they even began to discuss opening to international flights. So traveling to the US is not even on the radar.
Trying to Stay Positive
It is not easy. I could say that we are always happy, and everything is just a positive wash in optimism. But it is a daily and hourly conscious effort. I have many posts to finish for publication. But I am having trouble finding the motivation to put the symbolic “pen to paper.” It is just hard to write positive articles in such difficult times. But I will resume soon. We spend a lot of our time cooking, which helps. With the inability to purchase anything from a restaurant, we have begun preparing noodles from scratch, experimenting with making our own sambal oelek, dried chili, spice mixes, bread for banh mi’s, and anything else I can do to keep busy.
The lady that lives next to the salon my wife and brother-in-law operate specializes in duck dishes. She has since started selling whole ducks and chickens to keep any money flow. A poultry meat market keeps me in fresh ducks, and, ultimately, a consistent supply of confit, duck fat, stock, and some delicious breasts to sear. Their salon is shuddered, with no opening date on the horizon. This has created an environment where, for the first time since this mess started, we are becoming increasingly concerned about the ability to maintain in the near future. It has just become a very uncertain horizon.
Some of our Cooking Endeavors
Duck
below, you will see the many steps in our duck fabrication process. From a whole duck to the breast and legs. We cure the legs for at least 24 hours in sea salt, sugar, and dried basil. The carcass is rendered for its fat, while the breast is seasoned and seared for a delicious entree.
Fresh Noodles
Here is more of an exercise in patience. After the dough is brought together, it must be kneaded for at least 10 to 15 minutes. Rest for an hour or so and then more kneading. It must be kneaded and rested until you can stretch it at least triple its length without tearing. Then it is just a matter of rolling it out and cutting it into your desired shape.
City Mapping
One thing that is very different here is people’s relationship to each other. Privacy is not exactly a cornerstone of society here as it is in the US. In fact, information to citizens about the status of other citizens is deemed a valuable resource. Given that reality, the locations of active cases, addresses of homes with infections, and mapped areas of active quarantine zones, streets, and homes is made available to the public.
This isn’t meant to cause further isolation or discrimination against those affected. But more as a way to further protect citizens and prevent them from going near these areas. In addition, it gives the public a chance to evaluate their movements and determine if they have been in an infected area in recent weeks. If you feel in any way that you may have been exposed, you need only call a number. A team will come to give you a test and begin treatment immediately if necessary. The goal here is only to save lives.
Map Legend
So these are screenshots from the local epidemiological virus tracing site operated by the Ministry of Health. A house-shaped icon indicates a concentrated isolation zone. An area where multiple cases have been reported and are separately quarantined. Such as a street. Red circles indicate a quarantine location, such as a hospital. A yellow circle indicates the home of an actual patient in a hospital. An orange circle indicates an area where a known infected person has been in the last 14 days. A half-orange and half-green circle indicates where an infected person is known to have been beyond 14 days ago. The Star on each map indicates our apartment.
Lockdown Vs. Quarantine
There was a bit of positive news this morning. A few of the hospitals that had been quarantined independently were reopened today. But they are still in lockdown zones. The city is on lockdown, but there are even more strict quarantine and isolation zones within that lockdown. If you are in one of those, movement is not allowed. Many of the larger, well-equipped restaurants have switched to producing quarantine meals. Massive operations produce three, carefully prepared meals daily for those in full quarantine. At this point in Da Nang, that number is in the thousands.
A Commitment Unlike Anything I’ve Ever Seen
I have come to learn in my time here, that the Vietnamese are a proud and selfless people. When they quarantined the hospitals two weeks ago, every doctor, nurse, and support staff quarantined in it. An article in a local paper showed many workers saying goodbye to their wives, husbands, children, parents, and others as they prepared to cross the barriers into the hospitals and voluntarily quarantine with their patients. It was just incredibly heartwarming and emotional.
In recent days, doctors and nurses from around the country have begun to mobilize. Also, saying goodbye to their loved ones. Now they come to Da Nang. A sense of duty and honor, crossing the borders into the city to help us conquer the new outbreak. With deaths growing and cases mounting, this time’s danger is more real and tangible. There is a truth and feeling that some of these soldiers are going to war, and some may not return. It is a very humbling reality. We are all in this fight, and it appears it is just beginning.
Links
For more Dragon Diaries, click here.
For a series of local articles on Vietnam’s fight to control the most recent outbreak, from supplying food to the sacrifice the healthcare workers are facing, click the links below.
Health care workers: click here and here
For a great story on efforts to keep food supplies available, click here
