The Globe and Mail, one of Canada’s most prestigious online new outlets, published an article on May 27 titled "With zero pandemic deaths, Vietnam sets the standard for COVID-19 fight", opening with an image of domestic Vietnamese football to showcase the nation’s openness.

Spectators, some of whom wear masks, cheer whilst waving small Vietnamese flags ahead of kickoff at a Vietnamese National Football Cup qualifying match in Hung Yen province held on May 25. (Photo: Nhac Nguyen/ AFP via Getty Images) 

The article is accompanied by an image of Vietnamese fans watching a local football match, confirming that the country is adapting a “new normal”.

“The Vietnamese government cracked down on the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) early with quarantines, contact tracing, and savvy social-media campaigns to educate the public. It’s been almost a month since the country’s lockdown was lifted, and things are returning to normal,” according to the article.

The author pointed out that, “Vietnam’s virus-fighting record will stand out as a remarkable, perhaps unique, achievement. By May 26 it had reported only 327 confirmed cases – about three per million in a population of 97 million. The comparative figure in Italy is 3,822 per million, while in Canada it is 2,320, and in the United States 5,247.”

The piece twice featured images taken at a Vietnamese football match, including showing fans of Thanh Hoa FC as they traveled away to support their team in a clash against Pho Hien FC in the northern province of Hung Yen as part of the opening rounds of the National Cup 2020.

The Globe and Mail outlined how, “Sporting events, like many public activities in Vietnam, are returning to normal after COVID-19 restrictions eased last month.”

Plenty of spectators arrive to watch the soccer match held in Hung Yen province.
|(Photo: Nhac Nguyen/ AFP via Getty Images) 

The article delved into some of the reasons why the country has been successful in the COVID-19 fight by stating, “Vietnam had effectively declared its own emergency and was already clamping down.”

“A new academic report on Vietnam’s response to the pandemic, written by Prof. Thwaites and about 20 doctors and scientists, concluded that the early lockdown plus the extensive testing, contact tracing, and mandatory quarantines for people who had come into contact with anyone who had tested positive were behind Vietnam’s success in preventing COVID-19 deaths,” the article concluded.