Official Dispatch 8095/SYT-NVY Ho Chi Minh City 2021 COVID-19 prevention measures applicable to production and business establishments, industrial parks

PLAN

ON COVID-19 PREVENTION AND CONTROL MEASURES APPLICABLE TO PRODUCTION AND BUSINESS ESTABLISHMENTS, INDUSTRIAL PARKS

(Attached to the Official Dispatch No. 8095/SYT-NVY dated November 01, 2021, of the municipal Department of Health)

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I. OBJECTIVES

1. To actively prevent and control the pandemic at enterprises and production establishments on the principles of controlling the infection risk, early detection of infected cases, isolation, and timely zoning, preventing the pandemic from spreading in the establishments.

2. To implement the goal of both fighting the pandemic, ensuring a safe working environment for employees, while ensuring the production activities of enterprises.

II. REQUIREMENTS

1. Enterprises shall, based on general provisions and guidance on COVID-19 prevention and control measures corresponding to each pandemic risk level applicable to each field of operation provided by Ho Chi Minh City Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, actively develop plans on production and organization according to the pandemic situation, financial conditions, and their production and business characteristics.

2. Such plans must meet requirements for pandemic prevention and control, security and order, fire and explosion prevention, food safety, environmental sanitation, etc.

III. SAFETY MEASURES FOR COVID-19 PREVENTION AND CONTROL

Production and business establishments and industrial parks shall assign their health teams (according to the guidelines provided in Appendix 2) or enter into a contract with health units (private or public units) to implement and supervise the observance of safe pandemic prevention and control measures at enterprises and establishments:

1. Employees shall ensure one of the following conditions

- Employees have been fully vaccinated.

- Employees have received at least one dose of vaccines against COVID-19 and have a plan to receive the second dose when the sufficient time to receive the second dose is reached.

- Employees who have recovered from SAR-CoV-2 and completed their quarantine and medical surveillance period as prescribed.

2. Movements

- Vehicles transporting employees:

+ Vehicles transporting employees must be disinfected after each trip.

+ Drivers and assistants must be fully vaccinated and record their daily contacts

+ It is required to check body temperature and ask employees to wash their hands before getting on vehicles

+ The number of people on vehicles shall comply with specific requirements on distancing for pandemic prevention in each pandemic phase. The vehicle may operate according to its actual capacity if all employees have been fully vaccinated.

- Employees going to work by themselves must make a commitment to comply with the 5K rules as prescribed.

3. Workplace

3.1. Controlling infection sources from outside

- Organize health declarations (mandatory health declarations for employees, partners contractors providing services and goods for enterprises) before entering the workplace.

- Check body temperature before entering the workplace.

- Regarding guests coming for work: Specify the scope of movement inside the head office.

- Upon detecting suspected cases or epidemiological factors, the department in charge of processing information shall immediately notify the health teams or report the leaders of establishments and enterprises to contact health units for testing for SARS-CoV-2 as prescribed.

3.2. Controlling infection sources at the workplace

- Organize a well-ventilated workplace, arrange means to ensure ventilation for the working environment.

- Employees must follow the 5K rules and keep a minimum distance of 1 meter when working.

- Arrange adequate soap/hand sanitizer at convenient places for employees to wash their hands regularly.

- Organize meals for employees in shifts; arrange fixed seats for them, keep a distance of 2 meters, avoid sitting opposite, install partitions, separate the flow in and out of the canteen

- Carry out periodic disinfection and cleaning:

+ At public areas: Once a day

+ At production areas: After each work shift

+ At toilet areas: 3 - 4 times per day, after the workers’ rest break

- Install cameras to supervise the compliance with regulations on pandemic prevention and control in public areas and production areas.

- Arrange the working process in the direction of limiting contact among departments within the enterprise.

- Organize the supervision to early detect suspected cases through health declarations, finding out reasons for the employees’ absence, monitoring their health in the working time at the establishments.

- Self-organize random tests for SARS-CoV-2 for people at high risk of infection according to specific guidelines provided by the health sector.

- Upon detecting a person who has a positive test result for SARS-CoV-2 at establishments or enterprises, the health teams (or establishments or enterprises contact health units with whom they have entered into a contract) to implement the procedures for handling F0 cases under the health sector's guidelines (Appendix 1).

4. Employees’ accommodations

- Enterprises shall coordinate with local authorities to arrange safe accommodations and create favorable conditions for employees to have safe accommodation.

- It is encouraged to arrange for employees in the same department to work at the same place to prevent infection.

- Employees’ accommodations must be well ventilated and clean.

IV. IMPLEMENTATION ORGANIZATION

1. The Management Boards of Industrial and Export Processing Zones, Management Boards of Hi-Tech Parks and Quang Trung Software City Development One-Member Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as the industrial parks) shall

- Direct infrastructure development units that are eligible in terms of physical foundations and coordinate with competent agencies to establish zones where F0 cases are cared for and treated in industrial parks.

- Coordinate with the health sector and localities to organize vaccination sessions for employees who are not fully vaccinated.

- Monitor and support the enterprises’ pandemic prevention and control as prescribed.

2. The Steering Committees for COVID-19 Prevention and Control of Thu Duc City and other districts shall

- Coordinate and support enterprises in organizing safe accommodations for employees in their respective areas.

- Organize to control the pandemic situation in the localities, ensure conditions for safe production.

- Organize the inspection and supervision of the observance of regulations on pandemic prevention and control by enterprises; closely follow the pandemic development in production and business establishments and industrial parks located in localities for timely intervention.

- Direct the health centers of districts and Thu Duc City to provide guidance for production and business establishments located in localities to implement the Plan for safe COVID-19 prevention and control and Procedures for response upon detecting infected cases at establishments and enterprises; support the handling of F0 and F1 cases in enterprises as prescribed.

3. Industrial parks, production and business establishments shall

- Organize departments in charge of pandemic prevention and control, that are their health teams or contracted health establishments, to consult pandemic prevention and control solutions, provide testing or environmental hygiene services, etc. at requests of the units.

- Develop the Plan on COVID-19 prevention and control at enterprises according to current regulations and guidelines and take measures to prevent infection.

- Arrange temporary isolation areas meeting the Ministry of Health's regulations. In case an enterprise enters into a contract with a health establishment, or an industrial park has an area for taking care of and treating F0 cases, then sickbeds are not required in the temporary isolation area.

- Based on actual conditions of enterprises, develop specific plans to respond in case of detecting infected cases in the enterprises according to the procedures guided by the municipal Department of Health; disseminate such plans for the entire enterprises for application.

- Conduct testing at enterprises:

- Develop plans to self-organize random tests for SARS-CoV-2 for people at high risk of infection according to specific guidelines provided by the health sector.

+ Notify the testing plans for the Management Boards (for enterprises located in the Export Processing Zones - Industrial Parks, Hi-Tech Parks and Quang Trung Software City Development One-Member Co., Ltd.), Health Centers of districts and Thu Duc City, the Center for Disease Control of Ho Chi Minh City for monitoring.

+ Organize testing for employees as planned: The testing method may be RT-PCR test (single sample or pooled sample) or rapid test (single sample or pooled sample by biological products permitted by the Ministry of Health), or enter into a contract with health units to conduct RT-PCR test or self-organize a rapid test with the participation of the enterprises’ health staff, or hired health staff or the enterprises’ employees conduct rapid test according to instructions;

+ Upon testing, any case with a positive test result should be promptly reported to the local health center, the Center for Disease Control of Ho Chi Minh City, and handled according to the issued procedures.

+ Enterprises shall send reports on test results to the Industrial Park Management Boards, the Center for Disease Control of Ho Chi Minh City, health centers of Thu Duc City and other districts (within 2 hours after the end of the testing day);

+ Take responsibility before the law for the quality of the antigen test, procedures, and test results.

4. Employees shall

- Make health declarations in an honest and sufficient manner.

- Get vaccines according to schedule.

- Comply with regulations on pandemic prevention and control at the workplace and accommodations.

5. The Center for Disease Control of Ho Chi Minh City shall

- Support, inspect and supervise enterprises (under the management) in developing and implementing the Plan on COVID-19 prevention and control, provide professional support for health centers at requests.

- Provide guidance and direct health centers of Thu Duc City and other districts to conduct random and periodic screening tests at industrial parks, production and business establishments with high risk in order to regularly monitor the pandemic risk, timely detect potential outbreaks for early control, and minimize transmission.

* All Appendices are not translated herein.