[VNA] Working in Moscow’s “red zones” during pandemic

By Bui Duy Trinh – Moscow-based correspondent

As the number of COVID-19 cases continued to rise in Russia, the Vietnam News Agency (VNA)’s resident correspondents in the country began to jokingly refer to areas where we covered the news as “red zones”. They were high-risk locations where various people had tested positive or were suspected to have contracted the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which causes the COVID-19 disease, especially shopping malls and markets. At first, the risk of being infected could be avoided relatively by reducing physical contact. Widespread community transmissions, however, raised alert levels significantly. Time spent outside and meeting people were then minimised to reduce the risk of infection. As Moscow authorities later announced social distancing measures, direct interviews became impossible. The VNA correspondents quickly switched to virtual interviews via Viber, Skype and Messenger, with the office turned into a makeshift “mini studio”. To protect ourselves, face masks, gloves, and sanitiser were prepared before going out for work. There were times we had to thoroughly consider the decision to do so and contemplated every possible eventuality to get our minds ready. We understood the need to be aware of the on-going risk and at the same time could be neither negligent nor confused when outdoors. We remained fully aware that the presence of the media was important, however, as it helped deliver realistic and persuasive information and images to viewers. Despite the danger, we spared no effort in fulfilling our tasks while ensuring we and our families were safe. VNA correspondent in Moscow covering the event of more than 300 Vietnamese citizens repatriated from the Russian Federation checked in for flight back to Viet Nam at Sherementyevo airport, May 2020.