Ho Chi Minh Export-processing Zone Authority (HEPZA) has allowed factory workers to live on site, starting on Aug 23, to keep operations going. Factories that fail to follow the restrictions will have to shut down, according to Vietnam Insider.
Ho Chi Minh City is the epicenter of Vietnam's fourth wave of COVID-19 and so far has recorded nearly 200,000 positive cases and more than 6,000 deaths. Factories in the southern provinces and cities like Hanoi, Da Nang and Hue will have to shut down unless the workers are offered meals and beds on site.
More than 1.7 million people in Vietnam are fully vaccinated and more than 17 million have got the first shot. HEPZA has informed firms across the export-processing zones and industrial parks that COVID restrictions must be followed and that workers are not allowed to leave factory premises.
The sleepover approach keeps supply chain from being disrupted with PCR tests being done every seven days, and only those who follow the restrictions can keep operating amid the outbreak. Until September 6, HEPZA will not take applications from firms doing the sleepover to increase or decrease workforce.
