Mobile loudspeakers have been installed in quarantine checkpoints, markets, and shopping centers. (Photo: VOV)

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, public address systems in localities such as the northern border province of Quang Ninh have continuously updated listeners on the developments of the disease and detailed explanations of authorities’ guidelines on coronavirus prevention and control.

The news bulletins provide locals with information on positive cases and their travel schedules, among others. As a result, there is no panic in the community.

“Many bulletins were recorded by phone on the spot such as in quarantine zones, or  hospitals. We have no time to send them back to the studios for mixing. The content, which should be brief, is often edited just minutes before submission to the municipal Steering Committee on COVID-19 prevention and control and all 33 wards and communes for broadcast,” said Nguyen Thi Thuy Duong, Deputy Director of Ha Long City’s Communications Center. 

Grassroots radio broadcasting has also helped reduce the burden of tracing cases of infection on local medical forces.

Pham Tien Phuc, Chairman of Ha Khau ward in Ha Long city, said, “We broadcast the information provided by municipal authorities on the local loudspeaker systems as soon as it arrives. As a result, in many cases, up to a hundred  people come for the health declaration and tests at night.”

“The locals have also provided us with a lot of information about the travel schedules of COVID-19 patients.”

Mobile loudspeakers have proved the fastest and most effective communications channel in spreading necessary information and guidelines relating to coronavirus prevention such as wearing facemasks and washing hands.

Loudspeakers have been installed in on mobile vehicles to enable more widespread communications. (Photo: VOV)

Additional loudspeakers have been installed in larger, densely populated areas; or on mobile vehicles, to enable more widespread communications.

The youth task force of Yen Tho ward in Dong Trieu town have regularly been riding motorbikes with loudspeakers to every corner of residential areas.

Nguyen Hong Nam, Secretary of the Yen Tho Youth Union, said, “We often go out in the early morning so people can get the latest information. We help older people install the Bluzone app.”

Nam recalled, “when we arrived in Yen Son commune, which was home to many F2 and F3 cases. People heard our loudspeakers, and asked whether we were afraid of contracting the disease. We replied that we were not, because we were protected by facemasks and hand sanitizer. All of us should join in efforts to combat the disease.”

Streets in Quang Ninh have become deserted these days due to COVID-19.

Vu Manh Phai, a resident in Ha Long city, told VOV that thanks to the public address systems, local people have worked closely with government agencies to stop the spread of the virus.

“Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the local authorities have used neighbourhood loudspeakers to keep us informed. At first, it felt a bit strange. But now, we’re used to the sound and find the broadcasts helpful,” said Phai.