Starting from 23rd August, thousands of military personnel have been deployed in Saigon to enforce a heightened state of Covid-19 social distancing, where citizens are required to stay home at all times.
And yes, the sight of these serious-looking officers patrolling the streets or standing guard at posts do remind us of the dire situation we’re in. But on the other hand, they also have their own cute moments that, when captured and shared online, give us some much-needed lightheartedness.
Case in point, one picture showing a military man struggling to buy sanitary pads to bring to local women has been going viral on several Vietnamese Facebook pages, delighting netizens.
Let’s take a closer look to see what these public servants are dealing with.
Image credit: Zing News
The southern metropolis of Saigon remains the epicenter of Vietnam’s latest Covid-19 outbreak. For several weeks now, daily Covid-19 caseloads in the city have been sitting at thousands of new infections, despite the suspension of non-essential activities and travel restrictions.
Due to the concerning situation, authorities have deemed it fit to strengthen security measures. Starting from 23rd August, all Saigon residents are to stay at home at all times. Their essential supplies, such as groceries and hygiene products, will be delivered to them by military personnel.
Military personnel are deployed to help deliver supplies to citizens
Image credit: Zing News
But given that the vast majority of these officers are men, they are bound to face difficulties when it comes to…ladies’ needs.
For instance, a young soldier found himself in quite a pickle when local women asked him for sanitary pads, simply because of how many options there are.
Indeed, in a photo taken by Zing News, the man appeared flabbergasted standing in front of shelves full of sanitary pads of all shapes and sizes. He stood scratching his head, seemingly uncertain of which to pick.
Soon after the photo of the military man’s cute moment was published, it was reshared on social media and attracted a lot of attention from the online community, who find it both funny and heartwarming.
For the most part, netizens call the picture “cute” or “adorable”.
“Mission impossible Vietnamese version”, one man commented. “The poor man,” another said.
Image credit: Quangg Huy & Đăng Quang
Some also took the chance to get quippy, saying that these military men probably know sanitary pads better than many women.
Their statements are references to a popular running joke in Vietnam that soldiers often use sanitary pads as insoles for their shoes to make marching more comfortable.
“You’d think these guys would know their way around sanitary pads. They use them as shoe insoles for marching all the time.”
Image credit: Bùi Thành
Whether that is actually the case or not, well, let’s just keep it as a military secret.
We’re not going to sugarcoat it, things in Saigon are not looking good right now. But authorities are doing everything in their power to detect and treat Covid-19 patients, while also seeing to the basic needs of citizens.
And while we comply with their directives and try to stay safe from the virus, cute moments like these come as welcome respite from all the worries.
Yes, we know it’s not easy to stay positive these days, but let’s try to keep up hope as much as possible. Constantly being afraid or frustrated is only going to do you more harm than good, after all.
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Cover image adapted from Zing News
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