HANOI (Reuters) – Vietnam’s government has urged two provinces that are home to production facilities of companies such as Samsung Electronics and Foxconn to boost efforts to prevent a COVID-19 outbreak disrupting industrial production.
Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam told leaders of Bac Giang and Bac Ninh provinces at a meeting on Thursday to avoid the interruption of production chains in the provinces, the official Vietnam News Agency reported on Friday.
The provinces are the epicentre of a COVID-19 outbreak that has infected 1,835 people since late April, including hundreds of factory workers.
Bac Giang ordered on Tuesday four industrial parks, including three with Foxconn production facilities, to temporarily shut down due to the outbreak.
In neighbouring Bac Ninh province, 378 infections have been detected in the latest outbreak, including cases found at production facilities of Samsung and Canon Inc, according to the Ministry of Health.
Nguyen Huong Giang, deputy chairwoman of Bac Ninh People’s Committee, said the province was trying to keep its industrial production sites open by deploying measures such as contact tracing, conducting more COVID-19 tests and preparing two field hospitals.
Giang said both provinces were trying to avoid disruptions to production chains of multinational companies such as Samsung “to reach the dual goals of fighting the outbreak and developing the economy.”
Canon will be allowed to reopen its production facilities in Bac Ninh from Monday after being ordered to temporarily shut earlier this month, online newspaper VnExress reported, citing the province’s deputy chairman Vuong Quoc Tuan.
The deputy prime minister, who is also head of Vietnam’s anti-COVID-19 task force, said companies with appropriate safety measures can resume their operations to avoid adverse impacts on the economy.
“Workers may try getting their own samples for quick tests, under the supervision of medical officials,” Dam said.
Overall, Vietnam has reported 4,838 infections since the pandemic began, with 40 deaths.
(Reporting by Khanh Vu; Editing by Ed Davies)
