Home isolation of F1s will be piloted in HCM City and later expanded to other localities. The Ministry of Health says home isolation has advantages for both the locality and the F1s themselves. It reduces the risk of cross-infection and isolating at home is more comfortable.

But home isolation requires close monitoring by the local administrators and health workers, according to Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Truong Son.

'Our permanent task force in HCM City has asked authorities to strengthen inspection by setting up 100 inspection teams which will include representatives of all relevant agencies. Regular inspection will make home isolation more effective,' said Deputy Minister Son.

Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam proposed that Vietnam’s COVID-19 hotbeds of Bac Ninh and Bac Giang have F1s work in separable shifts, in separate areas, or on separate production lines to prevent disruption of supply chains.

Mr. Dam said, 'We are helping businesses re-arrange their production and workers’ accommodations. We should re-organize production shifts by separating F1s, tightening management of F1s and enforcing social distancing at work and in accommodations. This might work better than sending them all to quarantine camps.'

With creative and flexible measures to contain the virus like isolating F1s at home or in industrial parks or factories, Vietnam is succeeding at containing the pandemic while boosting economic growth.