Joyful emotions run high as Hanoi hospital lockdown ends

At 11 p.m. Saturday, when there was only one hour left until the lockdown order was lifted, doctors in the emergency ward were still working. The hospital had been allowed to take in emergency cases during its isolation period.

Staff of C4 faculty of the National Heart Institute at the Bach Mai Hospital chat with each other while waiting for the clock to strike midnight. The faculty has 14 patients and 34 staff members. After the lockdown is removed, all 14 patients will be discharged and return home. 

"My family has been worried because I was being treated here. They feel much better that the hospital can function normally," said one patient who did not want to be named.

Huong is a nurse with the National Heart Institute who is 38 weeks pregnant. She was going to stay at home for her pregnancy but had to stay on at the hospital because of the lockdown. As midnight approached, she called her husband to tell him that she will be home soon.

Doctors of the Bach Mai hospital maintain social distancing as they wait until midnight.

"I’m getting emotional because after 14 days, I will get to go home and see my family and my kids again," said Dao Thi Ngoc Nha, a nurse with the Nuclear Medicine Oncology Center at the hospital.

Many medical staff and patients stood in the front yard of the hospital as they waited for midnight and the lifting of the lockdown.

"My mother is currently being treated here and our family was worried. I’m happy to witness this moment," said 27-year-old Hoang Van Bach.

At midnight, police removed the barriers enforcing the quarantine to cheers from the medical staff and patients’ relatives. "Ending the lockdown period of the hospital is a chance for more patients to get better medical treatment," said Duong Duc Hung, Deputy Director of the Bach Mai Hospital. 

Inside the hospital, medical workers applauded, people got emotional and used the flashlights on their phones in celebration of the special moment. Many joked that it felt like New Year’s Eve.

Doctors wave their hands in happiness, with one breaking down in tears and covering her face.

"This will be an unforgettable memory for us," a doctor said, beaming.

The hospital managers said Bach Mai is Covid-19 free at the moment. Medical staff have tested Covid-19 negative three times.

A doctor hugs his son, who was waiting outside for him. They hadn’t seen each other for a long time.

The Health Ministry has directed the hospital to continue monitoring and preventing Covid-19 infections on its premises. Bach Mai, one of Vietnam’s largest hospitals, has become the country’s largest infection hotspot. At least 45 Covid-19 cases linked to the hospital have been confirmed, including 27 employees of Truong Sinh Company, which supplies food and logistic services to the hospital.