More than 400 doctors, nurses and other medical workers of the
Cho Ray Hospital in HCMC's District 5 had free haircuts on the
weekend as a cooperation initiative between the hospital and the
municipal Women's Cultural House.
Since hair salons across the city have had to close down amidst
the social distancing campaign, hospital staff, particularly
doctors, have suffered the inconvenience of long hair while
spending entire days inside protective suits.
The hospital staff sat 1.5 meters apart while waiting for their
turn. All those who have had their haircut were tested for Covid-
19 the same day and received vaccination shots as well. So far,
the test results have been negative.
"It had been over two months since I went to a hair salon and the
social distancing happened. The long hair felt too restrictive and
hot inside the protective suits, making me sweat buckets," said
Nguyen Thi Phuong, a doctor at the hospital.
Eight hairdressers volunteered to provide free haircuts. They too
tested negative for the coronavirus.
"When all of Saigon is fighting the pandemic, we too want to
contribute our mite. We hope that with a clean and beautiful
haircut, doctors will have an easier time at work," said Lan Anh,
one of the hairdressers.
"I am very satisfied with my new haircut. Looks much neater
and I look younger. A few days ago, I planned to ask a relative
to cut it, but the hospital managed to invite the hairdressers
first," said doctor Trung.
The hair-cutting sessions lasted from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on both
days with about 200 people getting their haircut each day.
HCMC has recorded 5,654 local Covid-19 cases so far in
Vietnam's latest coronavirus wave that began late April, a close
second behind Bac Giang’s 5,710 cases.
