Firms violating COVID-19 prevention rules must be suspended: Deputy PM

Businesses that have failed to meet COVID-19 prevention and control requirements must be suspended, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam said at a meeting in Hanoi on June 11.

Dam, who is also head of the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, asked enterprises to arrange work shifts to make it easier for quarantine in case of infections.

Once COVID-19 cases are found at industrial parks, testing results must be produced within a day to accelerate contact tracing and quarantine, the official requested.

He asked localities to use different testing methods for different groups of people, and implement the quarantine and lock-down work flexibly and creatively.

According to the Deputy PM, all of the workers who are at the high risk of infection would be vaccinated against the coronavirus in July, while the inoculation for employees at industrial parks nationwide is expected to be completed in August.

At the meeting, leaders of localities with industrial parks like Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Binh Duong, Dong Nai, Long An, Tay Ninh and Ba Ria-Vung Tau said they have drawn up scenarios for COVID-19 infections in the industrial parks.

Nguyen Huong Giang, Chairwoman of the People’s Committee of northern Bac Ninh province, which has been hit hard by the pandemic, said relevant forces should quickly take actions in contact tracing and sealing off pandemic clusters, while focusing on testing.

She also stressed the significance of screen testing to detecting COVID-19 cases at industrial parks.

Le Anh Duong, Chairwoman of the neighbouring province of Bac Giang, also stricken by the pandemic, pointed out major causes of transmission at industrial parks, and suggested other localities prepare on-the-spot plans, especially improving testing capacity.