COVID-19 Unites local government officials

October 15, 2020

Chanthone discussing with her acquaintances at the workshop. Photo by: UNDP Lao PDR

Chanthone Xayyavong, a 48-year-old mother of 3 was assigned to be one of the people in charge of the Bokeo quarantine center, since its establishment approximately six months ago. As a health professional, she had never experienced working with so many counterparts before.

On March 24th, Bokeo was designated as a quarantine facility for returning workers from abroad, and as the Deputy Sector Head of Treatment, Chanthone and her team were given a set of duties.

Initially, as migrant workers began returning home, there weren’t too many concerns. But later, when control measures were starting to be lifted, there were a few workers who escaped from the quarantine center.


Bokeo Province Quarantine Center

Those individuals that escaped were people with a history of substance and drug abuse, she says. They were not locals of Bokeo Province but came into Laos after they were caught by a neighboring country’s police and sent back.

Chanthone’s team learned that they need more than just health workers to cope with the situation. They needed to check and evaluate the mental health of returnees, and to observe what kind of problems they may have, and coordinate with the police officers at the quarantine center, to be on alert.

Given that those who escaped may not have fully understood the importance of quarantining towards prevention of spreading the virus, she was certain that they had no bad intentions.


Quarantine center assessment team (visiting team from the central level for the project)

People housed at the quarantine facility were given, basic health education, knowledge and guidance, about how best to protect against the virus. This ensured that individuals understood that being in quarantine did not mean that they were prisoners. The 14 days spent at the facility, having their health monitored, confirms that they are free of COVID-19, and are able to join their families safely, while preventing the potential of spreading the virus.

In an interview at a recent workshop on ‘Strengthening Local Governance in Response to COVID-19,’ Chanthone said she and her team had never worked together with such a big group of representatives, from so many sectors. The workshop was held to set regulations, to address the needs and resources for each province, and to review preventative measures for COVID-19 preparedness.

Although Chantone’ s team has had some experience with respiratory diseases, it was still very different from Covid-19, which requires much wider coordination. So, they needed the knowledge and confidence on how to organize and implement proper prevention measures.


A brainstorming chart by Chanthone’s group for one of the scenario-based exercises.

Chanthone says that scenario based exercises held during the workshop benefit participants, by helping to identify who does what and when. The responsibility is shouldered by all, she added, from households all the way to organizations and authorities, from village level all the way up to the central level.

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Written by:

Ms. Aksonethip Somvorachit, Communications Analyst, UNDP Lao PDR.

The views expressed in this article are those of the authors alone and not the United Nations Development Programme.