SEA Games 2021: Masks Are No Longer Required On The Streets Of Vietnam

JAKARTA - In Indonesia, especially Jakarta, going out wearing a mask has become an obligation and a habit. If you don't wear a mask, you will feel weird, awkward, and even get surprised looks from people around you.

Not a few also feel that traveling without a mask feels like being naked because we are so used to the condition that our nose and mouth are covered by a mask.

However, a different scene is found in the Vietnamese capital, Hanoi. Life in Uncle Ho's country seems to have been going on normally like before the pandemic. Many people also don't really care about masks even though the COVID-19 pandemic in the world has not fully recovered.

This condition has been found since arrival at Noi Bai International Airport, Hanoi. Not only airport officers who no longer wear masks, but also immigration officers who don't even ask for COVID-19 test results or ask foreign travelers to download the country's COVID-19 application.

Reporting from Antara, Sunday, SEA Games volunteers also looked relaxed in welcoming the arrival of the contingent even without masks.

Likewise, the volunteers who were in the arenas of the SEA Games and Main Press Center (MPC) had already taken off their masks even though they were interacting with contingent delegates and athletes.

Not only that, online motorcycle taxi application drivers who were met several times in Vietnam also seem to have been indifferent to COVID-19 because they are reluctant to use masks when carrying passengers.

The same thing was also found at the opening ceremony of the Vietnam SEA Games at My Dinh National Stadium, Hanoi. Spectators filled the stadium with a capacity of 40,000 people, but many of those who came were not wearing masks.

Not to mention spectators or volunteers, the police and local security officers on duty around maintaining the continuity of the event did not even wear masks.

The situation is different from that in Jakarta, where officers are likely to come directly and urge the audience to comply with health protocols and wear masks.

A resident of Hanoi, Hong Ngoc, admits that Vietnamese people don't really care about the use of masks.

However, Hong believes the threat of COVID-19 still exists, so he chooses to always wear a mask when in public areas.

"The government still recommends people to wear masks, but it's not currently mandatory as before," Hong said.

"But I believe when I'm in a public place, it's better to keep wearing a mask for health reasons. So I always wear a mask at all times."

Other residents even said that masks were no longer needed because people had already taken the third dose of vaccine or booster.