As of August 8, 8 workers in 6 companies in Da Nang and 1 worker in an industrial park in Quang Nam province have tested positive for COVID-19. 4 of the 6 companies in Da Nang have halted production until the end of this month and the other 2 have quarantined anyone who has had recent close contact with the patients. A company in Quang Nam has laid off 20,000 workers and imposed a quarantine.

Ho Thi Kim Ngan, Deputy Head of the Industrial Relation Department of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor, said: “The spread of the disease will negative affect businesses. With more cases reported, companies will have to suspend its production lines and factory. If one factory in the industrial park is affected, other companies will also be at risk. If the disease affects a company, it will  affect workers’ incomes and social security.”

At recent meetings of the government and the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc called for simultaneous efforts to prevent COVID-19 and maintain production and business activities to prevent an economic disruption. As soon as the epidemic returned, companies and factories stepped up disease prevention measures.

Ms Ngan said: “Following the recommendations of the National Steering Committee, companies in the industrial parks have taken measures such as screening arriving workers and sanitizing work areas. They have also set up Steering Committees for Disease Prevention in the Workplace and medical teams who will help detect cases and communicate with local centers for disease control to report infections.”