Song and dance keeps coronavirus blues at bay

On the yard of the Lao Cai Province Military School, February 17, 2020, some of the people quarantined, mostly Vietnamese merchants in China's Hekou Yao market, practice aerobics to beats coming off a smartphone. The school currently quarantines around 450 Vietnamese returning from China.

"We need to stay strong in order to fight off the coronavirus," said Nguyen Thi Nhi, who started the exercise movement. People do aerobics in the morning and in the afternoon, with each session lasting 30 minutes, she added.

Nguyen Thi Huong, another quarantined inmate, sings using karaoke music on the phone.

Trang Thi Xua sunbathes on a lawn. Xua, a Mong woman, had been to China to work before returning to Vietnam. Her son advised her to go into quarantine for 14 days over the novel coronavirus fears.

Giang Thi Vang wore a face mask for the first time after she was quarantined.

A quarantined woman off to do her laundry.

Hoang Van Hong learns Chinese from a textbook. The 21-year-old man from the north central Nghe An Province was working and studying in China's Yunnan Province before he returned and was quarantined.

Two people entertain themselves, play Xiangqi.

A group of Vietnamese drivers enjoy their lunch together. Among the quarantined, over 100 are container truck drivers.

Kien, a driver, watches a show on his phone.

Vu Ngoc Thanh and his family are quarantined in a room with four beds. Thanh, his wife, daughter and granddaughter returned from Hekou Yao on February 5. As of Tuesday, their health was normal.

A doctor checks the body temperature of an inmate. Everyone gets medical checks twice a day – in the morning and in the afternoon. Whoever exhibits symptoms like coughing or fever will be transferred to Lao Cai's General Hospital 500 for treatment.

A police officer at the quarantine zone, which is guarded 24/24. As of Tuesday, the facility had received around 534 Vietnamese returning from China. It can receive up to 1,000 people.