Firms asked to stop sending workers to coronavirus-hit areas

Enterprises that have not obeyed the instruction will be strictly punished in line with law, the minister said.

Vietnam’s labour representative offices in the epidemic-hit regions need to take communication measures to encourage workers, including illegal labourers, to fill in medical declaration forms and undergo medical supervision in host countries if they come from other areas or are infected or suspected to be infected with the virus.

Workers who return home from areas with SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks will be kept under quarantine in line with regulations of the Vietnamese Ministry of Health, Dung said.

Apart from fighting the disease, efforts should be made to remove difficulties facing the management work in order to ensure production and business, and stabilize people’s lives, the minister said, calling for coordination between relevant agencies and sectors to deal with incidents emerging during the combat.

Dung asked the Department of Overseas Labour to set forth plans to selectively and closely receive Chinese experts and workers in specific spheres, while working to help labourers in enterprises feel secure.

Those who return to Vietnam must observe medical and quarantine regulations set by the health ministry, he noted.

As for Vietnamese workers abroad, especially those in the Republic of Korea (RoK), Taiwan (China) and Japan, the minister stressed the need to promote COLAB SOS – an application launched by the Department of Overseas Labour aiming to connect Vietnamese guest workers.

The labourers, particularly those in Daegu and Gyeongbuk that are worst hit by the epidemic the RoK, should avoid travelling to epidemic-hit areas, and not leave the host countries and territories if not necessary to prevent the spread of the disease.

Under the minister’s instruction, vocational training schools nationwide will reopen from March 2.