HCMC – As many as 150 enterprises in Binh Duong Province and those in nine industrial parks and clusters in Tien Giang Province, the two large coronavirus hotspots, will stop employing the stay-at-work mode as they have detected a large number of Covid-19 cases.
Binh Duong Vice Chairman Mai Hung Dung on July 29 said the 150 enterprises had found it difficult to ensure sufficient food for workers and materials for production, and their workers were anxious after Covid-19 cases were found at their companies, news site VnExpress reported.
The Binh Duong Industrial Zones Authority and the local authorities have provided detailed instructions about the halt of the stay-at-work mode.
Firms which want to stop applying the mode must conduct Covid-19 tests for all of their employees. Those who test negative will stay at the factories for at least three days and undergo another test to ensure safety before they return to their residences.
Binh Duong is now home to 29 industrial parks and 12 industrial clusters with more than 1.2 million workers. As of July 28, nearly 3,600 enterprises with some 390,000 laborers in the province had registered to apply the stay-at-work mode.
In the current coronavirus wave, the province has detected more than 10,000 cases, including over 2,000 workers. It is now the second largest coronavirus hotspot, following HCMC.
The Tien Giang government on July 29 also announced that nine industrial parks and clusters in the province would suspend their operations from August 5 to stop the spread of the virus.
The move was made after 260 workers of enterprises employing the stay-at-work mode in the Long Giang and My Tho industrial parks were found to be infected with the coronavirus.
By August 4, these firms must conduct RT-PCR tests for workers.
Tien Giang currently has nine industrial parks and clusters with more than 100,000 workers. The province has recorded nearly 2,400 Covid-19 cases, including 342 recoveries and 38 fatalities.
In Dong Thap Province, chairman of Sa Dec City Nguyen Van Hon said the city found that Bich Chi Food JSC violated Covid-safe regulations while employing the stay-at-work mode. On July 27, three Covid-19 cases linked to the company were detected.
However, all the employees of the company have tested negative for Covid-19.
Bich Chi Food JSC general director Pham Thanh Binh said on July 23, the Sa Dec City government allowed it to remain operational with 461 employees. The number was later reduced to 350 people. The company was willing to suspend its operations although the three cases were not among its employees but those delivering goods to the company.
Only seven companies in Sa Dec were permitted to operate during the stay-at-home mandate, while 69 others were asked to suspend their operations.
Dong Thap has detected more than 2,600 cases.
