Da Nang residents stuck in HCMC return to family embrace

On Oct. 12, two flights from HCMC landed in central Da Nang City.
In the photo, Dang Thi Thu Thanh, 33, and her daughter Le Viet Thuy Linh, 12, residents of Da Nang’s Thanh Khe District, handed the funerary urn of Dang Thi Ai to her brother, also Thanh’s father, Dang Van Nam, 62.
Ai, 59, died of Covid on Sep. 14. Thanh has had only one vaccine dose, so she must enter centralized quarantine after giving the urn to her father. Thanh was a worker at a garment factory in HCMC, her daughter visited her in June for her summer vacation, and the duo "stayed in our room all day, having fried rice and instant noodles over four months."
"Tran Hung Phong, vice chairman of Da Nang Fellows Association in HCMC, helped us with the quarantine fee and procedure to bring the urn on the return flight," Thanh said.

Nam and his son brought his sister’s urn to a funeral house. Walking from the arrival gate to the parking lot, the man was speechless with teary eyes.
Ai was unmarried, and worked as a domestic helper in HCMC. She was in the hospital to treat her lung disease before getting infected by the coronavirus. Thanh, unemployed for months, had to ask for support from others to pay for her aunt’s treatment. When Ai passed away, Thanh wanted to bring her urn home, but she hesitated, worrying about the quarantine fee when returning to her hometown.

Two flights on Oct. 12 brought 321 Da Nang residents and 20 healthcare workers working in southern localities home. According to Phong, two Da Nang families that lost loved ones to the pandemic brought the urns home on both flights. Previously, local authorities took more than 10 funerary urns of Covid-deceased Da Nang residents from HCMC homes by road.

The central city has prioritized people aged above 70, pregnant women, students, teachers, informal workers and patients in hospital.

A returnee displays her documents before receiving quarantine instructions from local authorities. Those who have been fully vaccinated and have a negative test result obtained within seven days are allowed to self-isolate for seven days, while those with one vaccine dose must be quarantined in hotels for 14 days and pay the fee.

This is the second time Da Nang has organized flights bringing its residents in HCMC home. In July, the city brought 618 people home. Flight tickets are all sponsored by Da Nang International Terminal Investment and Operation JSC (AHT).

Luong Duc Khoan, 66, was thrilled to reunite with his grandson Luong Duc Tin, 9.
"I have not seen him for more than five months, I missed him so much," the man said. Tin visited his uncle in HCMC with his mom and sister during the national holiday in late April and early May. Due to the raging pandemic in both cities, they did not venture out in the last few months, until the outbreak was brought under control.

Tang Thi Quynh Dieu, 72, resident of Da Nang’s Hai Chau District, could not hide her happiness when seeing her relative again, even though they could not talk much, maintaining a social distance.
Dieu went to Saigon to visit her children six months ago, while her family in Da Nang yearned for a flightto bring her home.

Many people did not come to close to each other and avoided physical touch, ensuring safety. In the last ten days, the central city has not recorded any Covid-19 cases in the community.

Most Saigon returnees have been fully vaccinated. In Da Nang, 817,700 people have been vaccinated with a least one dose, of which 120,900 have been fully vaccinated, accounting for 14.6 percent of the city's population.

Do Pham Duy Anh, 3, went home with his mother and grandmother. Anh previously went to HCMC with his grandmother to have a dental operation and was stranded for six months.