Around 1,355 businesses, or 96 per cent of tenants in industrial parks and export processing zones have resumed operations since the lockdown was lifted on October 1, according to the HCM City Export Processing Zone and Industrial Park Authority.

Almost all their workers were fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or have recovered from the disease, Hua Quoc Hung, head of HEPZA, said.

Businesses have replaced the model of workers living onsite with safe workplace requirements, strictly complying with the Ministry of Health’s 5K protocol and maintaining social distancing of at least one metre.

Some 50 COVID cases are reported daily at factories in IPs and EPZs, accounting for 0.02 per cent of labourers.

Periodic COVID testing of workers is not mandatory, but businesses do tests once a week to quickly detect infections and quarantine patients to prevent broader outbreaks.

Datalogic Viet Nam Co. Ltd. at the Saigon Hi-Tech Park in Thu Duc City tests for more than 800 workers every week though all are fully vaccinated.

It spends more than VND200 million (US$8,700) for COVID testing every week.

The hi-tech park last week set up a 200-bed medical facility to quarantine and treat people who are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms.

According to Nguyen Anh Thi, head of the park management, the facility is run by staff from Bac My General Hospital in co-ordination with the Thu Duc City Health Centre.

Businesses pay VND120,000 ($5) daily for meals for workers who are quarantined and treated.

Two other similar facilities will be set up at the Dong Nam Industrial Park in Cu Chi District and Linh Trung 2 Export Processing Zone in Thu Duc City.

HEPZA said more such facilities would be set up to promptly detect and treat infected workers.

Under the Department of Health’s new guidelines for COVID-prevention and control, factories are not required to shut down when a worker tests positive, and only need to suspend operations at the site where the patient worked to disinfect. — VNS