Since the outbreak of the COVID-19, Khe Man has had few visitors.

From the main road, you need to cross a small stream to reach Khe Man hamlet, which is set apart from the other hamlets in the mountainous district of Ba Che.

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19, Khe Man has had few visitors.

Whenever a stranger comes to the village, Chiu Sang Hinh Hình approaches them carefully and asks them for information.

Hinh says all the villagers conscientiously abide by the disease prevention rules and other pandemic protocols.

“If anyone has trouble breathing, they must stay at home. If a person has a cough or sickness, they must report at once to the local medical clinic so the COVID team can test them and take steps to minimize the risk of their spreading the disease to other family members,” said Hinh.

Going to a health station to get her third dose of COVID-19 vaccine, Dang Kim Phuong remembered to wear a facemask.

She says it has become an everyday clothing accessory to the colorful traditional attire of Vietnam’s Dao Thanh Phan ethnic minority.

“I always remind my relatives and neighbors to wear a face mask when they go out or get together. We believe it’s important to remind each other to follow the rules,” said Kim Phuong.

The 90-plus households of Dao people – about 300 people – know by heart the “3 safeties” – safe individuals, safe families, and safe community – and the related rules, which are simple and easy to remember and follow: comply with prevention rules, get vaccinated, monitor your own health, stay united, and proactively inform the authorities of any high-risk cases. The rules are a matter of village consensus.

Six inter-family groups have been established in Khe Man hamlet to help manage the pandemic protocols.

These groups help each other buy food for people in quarantine and care for and visit anyone who gets sick.

Trieu Quay Thanh uses the local loudspeaker system to keep villagers informed of coronavirus prevention and control.

Trieu Quay Thanh, head of the Fatherland Front of Khe Man hamlet, says he comes to every house in the village every day, tells each family the new regulations, persuades them to accept responsibility for pandemic prevention and control, and monitors developments so the village can implement timely response measures.  

According to Thanh, “Pandemic protocols must be observed at all Party cell meetings and meetings with the public. We must unite to fight the epidemic. Once regulations are adopted by consensus, everyone must follow them."

Hoang Ngoc Quyen, Chairman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front in Ba Che district, said the model is effective because Ba Che is a large sparsely populated area where more than 80% of the population belong to ethnic minorities.

“The achievements gained so far have been thanks to the self-management of the people in the hamlets and the sense of responsibility of the community COVID-19 prevention teams, and especially the inter-family groups. At the height of the epidemic, these groups and COVID teams have kept Ba Che green and safe," said Quyen.

During the great national unity festival last November, the people of Khe Man and more than 1,500 other hamlets and communes in Quang Ninh adopted village rules in line with epidemic prevention and control regulations.

Nearly 15,500 inter-family groups were established in the province. The model, an initiative of Quang Ninh’s Fatherland Front, has enabled the province to safely adapt to the pandemic while developing the economy.