The Department of Information and Communications is the focal point for information on epidemic prevention According to Ms. Le Ngoc Han, information and propaganda have been determined by the province to play a very important role in the prevention of the Covid-19 epidemic. Therefore, communication has been included in the message of Covid-19 prevention and control in Quang Ninh along with 5K, vaccines and technology. When implementing, there are some differences that are the entire information and propaganda work is assigned to the Department of Information and Communications for information to be more unified and proactive. Specifically, the Department of Information and Communications is the focal agency to broadcast messages and developments in epidemic prevention and control as well as directing and operating activities in the area. “This is also a way to reduce the load on the health workers who are on the front lines so they can focus on their professional work, which is epidemic prevention and control,” said Ms. Le Ngoc Han. During epidemics, the Department of Information and Communications is the focal point to provide all information on epidemic prevention to the press, media as well as the basic information systems, including information related to the tracing work. . At times with special factors, the Department of Information and Communications produces newsletters or informational content in order to provide timely and fastest information to the press and the grassroots information system. Promoting the strengths of IT in anti-epidemic propaganda The information is continuously updated at the e-Government of Quang Ninh province on the Zalo platform (Photo: Duy Vu) Quang Ninh is one of the affected localities in the 3rd outbreak when Van Don airport and Dong Trieu town appeared new cases. At a time when the epidemic was complicated, the province’s information and propaganda work was carried out continuously in many forms and showed positive effects. Ms. Le Ngoc Han shared: “Instead of only using traditional methods in print press, radio, television, and electronic press, today, communication is used to the fullest extent. In particular, promoting the strengths of IT and telecommunications infrastructures. Specifically, Quang Ninh uses a public service portal to bring information about Covid-19 prevention to people and businesses. The public service portal is one of the methods of communication with people and businesses, which has a large amount of traffic every day, so information is quickly and widely distributed. Especially when social distancing, the more users need to access the public service portal. Quang Ninh also uses the basic infrastructure of the provincial e-government (invested since 2014) to access the entire system of civil servants and public employees from the province to the commune level. In addition, all administrative documents of the province are sent via the official email system to civil servants and public employees. Currently, the province is testing a smart application in the IoT system, which is identified as an effective communication channel. In addition, the Department of Information and Communications also uses the public Wi-Fi system to deliver messages and content that need to be transmitted immediately to the people about epidemic prevention and control. “Another system that we consider very effective is basic information,” said the director of the Quang Ninh Department of Information and Communications. Not only providing the written content as directed, at peak periods such as the 3rd outbreak, every day the Department of Information and Communications prepares a newsletter to give to the basic information system to communicate key and fastest content to the people. “So we communicate proactively, purposefully and communicate focused content throughout the province,” said Ms. Le Ngoc Han. Using and promoting the effectiveness of social networks is a form deployed by the province to bring information to the people quickly. In Quang Ninh, most departments and branches have a Fanpage; All information on epidemic prevention and control is focused on these channels or Zalo platform on the provincial e-Government page for daily news updates.

Popular group chat, video calling application During the complicated development of the Covid-19 epidemic on a large scale, working remotely with the help of modern tools like Zalo is a safe and effective solution for office workers. Online messaging and video calling are two important features that replace face-to-face conversations. Ms. Nguyen Mai Huong, head of recruitment at an insurance company, belongs to the 7x generation, is quite worried when working remotely for a long time. Self-identifying as “blind” to technology, the arrival of Covid-19 is a challenge but also an opportunity for her to apply technology to work more. “I often use Zalo’s unlimited video calling feature to meet with members or interview candidates, which is both convenient and free. Thanks to that, the work is not interrupted during the epidemic,” Huong shared. Zalo on computers allows users to make free video calls for 24 hours, up to 100 participants. Meetings are also more effective with the in-call screen sharing feature, integrated on the computer version of Zalo. The messages made at this platform are also easily adjusted at will to increase the efficiency of information exchange in the group. Taking a job at a technology company in Ho Chi Minh City as a marketing specialist, Mr. Le Dang Long Phi, 21, was quite surprised when he had to work from home from day one. Thanks to her previous experience of studying and working online, Phi shared that she confidently completed about 80% of the work. Zalo on the computer is a working tool used by Long Phi often. Long Phi said that due to the nature of his work, he often exchanged documents and plans with colleagues and partners. So, the feature of sending files with a capacity of 1 GB on Zalo helps him save time and effort in the process of transferring data, without leaving the chat frame. Organize scientific work While single people are quite comfortable working remotely, families with young children are confused when it comes to balancing work and family. Ms. Ta Bao Nguyen, a content specialist for an e-commerce site, shared that staying at home gives her peace of mind. However, she must plan to arrange time for housework, child care and company work. “At the beginning of the day I usually make a to-do list like I’m at the office. I usually deal with important things to solve, less priority things to spend at the end of the day,” said Ms. Nguyen. She also confided that because her children did not go to kindergarten, she had to make the most of her time. At lunch break or break, she used to chat with her child or feed him solid food. Ms. Bao Nguyen has to balance housework, childcare and work during the quarantine period. Meanwhile, Mr. Tran Anh Hoang, a real estate expert, said that due to the nature of his job, in addition to the time he spent in the office, he had to meet 3-5 customers every day. To ensure safety during the social distancing period, his consulting and brokerage activities are now online. Hoang will connect with guests via Zalo because everyone has an account. High quality images and videos of his projects are sent to customers quickly. However, to discuss more clearly, he often calls video consultation directly. Text formatting and To-do are useful features for office workers. “It is difficult to remember the appointment time of each client when there are so many people to consult. Therefore, I often make an appointment in the message, until now I am notified, making the most of the day,” Hoang said. Remote working opens a new trend for many businesses in Vietnam. This trend directly affects employees, forcing them to adapt and master information technology quickly. Online working applications like Zalo PC become an effective assistant, replacing traditional work tools, helping employees improve productivity. Using the “Reminder Appointment” feature to set up a meeting time is a good idea when working remotely. Readers can download and experience useful features in Zalo PC’s work https://zalo.me/pc.

Vietnamese people are gradually getting used to working remotely With many multinational companies, it is common to connect and work regularly with foreign markets. Or their employees can choose to work remotely in another country, relying on the help of modern technology platforms that are being upgraded day by day. Japan once encouraged people to work from home to reduce traffic in 2017. In Vietnam, with a number of new careers such as developer (software engineer), market research and analysis, freelancer (freelance), many young people gradually choose to work remotely. However, these are mostly specialty jobs. The concept of working without an office is still quite strange to Vietnamese people. Like many countries in the world, from the beginning of 2020, Vietnam began to convert the form of direct work to online according to each stage of the development of the Covid-19 epidemic in society. While some countries are already familiar with this way of working, Vietnam is beginning to adapt. Most recently, Singapore, the government of this country is tightening the mandatory guarantee for people to work from home. For the first time working from home for 4 months, Mr. Vo Le Hoang Anh (market development officer in Hanoi) confided: “It was quite difficult at first because everyone defaulted to working from home, which would be less effective However, if you are familiar with online working tools like Zalo, everything is quite smooth, reaching 80-90%, if you try harder, you will achieve 100% efficiency. Working remotely is seen as a challenge in the context of a society that has not been properly prepared. But from a positive perspective, this is also an opportunity for Vietnamese to optimize the application of technology in work and build a new working style. Adaptive or follow the trend? In addition to avoiding the epidemic and preventing the risk of Covid-19 infection in the community, working remotely helps employees save travel time and be more flexible in life arrangements. However, a question arises whether the work efficiency is guaranteed as when working at the office. Many people think that working remotely is only suitable for individual jobs, while those who often work in groups, efficiency will be significantly reduced. Others objected with the belief in the effective support of modern technological tools. Mr. Lam Anh Tuan has left Ho Chi Minh City to Dong Nai for more than half a year. His parents’ garden became his workplace. “Not going to the office will reduce some of the pressure, and have a comfortable mentality to work. Whenever I need to meet with a partner or colleague, I will use the group video call feature, everyone connects regularly. and easy”. Zalo version on the computer can make calls to up to 100 people. Based on recently released information, employees of many companies in developed countries are allowed to work from home indefinitely after the epidemic. Satisfied with the current work performance, Ms. Vo Trang Anh – a designer in Ho Chi Minh City – has the same hope as Mr. Tuan when looking forward to working remotely even after the epidemic ends. Users can easily drag and drop files up to 1 GB into the chat frame to transfer documents or high quality images. For employers, letting employees work remotely can save space rental costs, but make it difficult to manage and build corporate culture, besides connecting and creating motivation. give. According to Mr. Cao The Loc – general director of a media company in Hanoi, his employees look forward to being able to return to the office soon to discuss face-to-face and understand each other better. Although some large enterprises around the world have opened the door to the trend of working remotely indefinitely, domestic companies have not yet taken any concrete action or expressed support. Whether this wave will change the working style in Vietnam is still a question mark, because this decision depends a lot on the nature and actual work efficiency based on the change in market quality. future labor market and work tools from modern technology. Readers can experience Zalo PC with online support features https://zalo.me/pc.

Medical declaration via Zalo is considered a method of saving time and reducing the risk of infection. People just need to do the declaration steps at home instead of going to a health station, hospital or public place. In particular, people do not need to declare many times. Once completed, residents will receive a QR code confirming that they have declared medical information to provide security and medical staff at the destination or at the disease control checkpoint. Medical declaration feature on Zalo page “Quang Nam Provincial Police”. In Ha Nam province, before large-scale deployment, all officers and soldiers of the provincial police force made electronic medical declarations through Zalo “Ha Nam Provincial Police”. In addition, propaganda is also promoted so that people know and accompany in electronic declaration. Meanwhile, in Hai Duong, since the Covid-19 epidemic re-emerged, the official account “Hai Duong Provincial Police” on Zalo is used to send all tracing notices and search for people related to the Covid-19 cases in the province, supporting people to make medical declarations during the period of social distancing. Hai Duong province continuously implements strict epidemic prevention measures. The rapid implementation of the “Medical declaration” feature on the Zalo page by the provinces in order to proactively and effectively implement the tracing and timely detection of cases at risk of infection and disease, and at the same time contribute to the common sense. hands to prevent and control the Covid-19 epidemic in the area. For provinces and cities that have not yet implemented the “Medical declaration” feature on the official Zalo page, people can still make a quick and safe declaration on Zalo by searching and paying attention to the Zalo “Prevention of Corona Virus” page. , select the built-in “Medical declaration” and complete the declaration. For locations that require scanning a QR code to declare, people go to the Zalo application and select the QR code icon in the right corner, then complete the required declaration. The online medical declaration feature is Zalo’s attempt to bring technology to the community. Actively declare health to help protect yourself, your family and the community. Previously, the National Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control issued Official Dispatch No. 3751/CV-BCD to ministries and ministerial-level agencies, agencies attached to the Government, People’s Committees of provinces and cities on promoting Electronic medical declaration for Covid-19 prevention and control by QR code and applications.