Journalist Tran Thi Thao. (Photo: Ngoc Anh/ VOV5)

Hanoi was Vietnam’s novel coronavirus hotspot and covering the COVID-19 pandemic was a top priority of the media. Thao and her colleagues spent their days at National Hospital of Tropical Diseases No2, which was treating most of Hanoi’s COVID-19 patients.

Thao also reported on the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology and the Ha Noi Centre for Disease Control.

“As a journalist, I didn’t mind going on-site to report the pandemic situation. I went regularly to the National Hospital of Tropical Diseases. I was even kept in quarantine and could not come home for weeks,” said Thao.

During this time, the media’s role was to keep people informed about the pandemic and to tell them how to protect themselves against infection. 

“Thao took risks working in the quarantine areas. We need journalists like her to provide reliable and persuasive information on COVID-19,” said journalist Nguyen Hue Chi with Marketing Magazine.

Thao recalled one of her most memorable moments during the COVID-19 fight, “I remember following the COVID-19 rapid response team of the North Tu Liem District Health Center as they took COVID-19 patient samples. That was the first time I wore the protective clothing, glasses and gloves."

"The working conditions were difficult, and I realized how hard the medical staff had to work to fight COVID-19.”

Articles by Tran Thi Thao and her colleagues have greatly contributed to the battle against COVID-19.