On implementing measures

Firms take pre-emptive measures to ensure staff after Tet

When Covid-19 broke out in early 2020, many foreign employees and experts were unable to return to Vietnam which caused many difficulties for the firms. This year, many firms already have plans to ensure that they will have enough personnel, both local employees and foreign experts, to operate after Tet.

Dai Dong Vietnam Company said they have nearly 50 foreign employees, most of them are Japanese. In 2020, they returned to Japan and were unable to return to Vietnam to work until mid-June. This year, they have successfully persuaded them to stay in Vietnam through Tet.

Nguyen Van Khanh, deputy head of HCM City Leather and Footwear Association said many firms had cut staff by 20-30% in 2020. When the orders returned, they couldn’t find enough employees. If one employee is tested positive, there will be quarantine and leaves of absence and operations will be badly affected. To prevent such a scenario, the firms are recruiting employees who will stay in a strictly-monitored environment.

Do Thi Ninh Huong, head of Quang Ninh Province Federation of Labour, said, “From what we know, all firms at Hai Yen Industrial Park, Hai Ha Port Industrial Park and other areas in the province are implementing such plans. It is estimated that 10,000 employees will stay in Quang Ninh through Tet.”

Nguyen Xuan Anh, head of Hai Duong Province Federation of Labour, said after community cases were reported, they had asked firms to review their workforce and preventive measures. Firms were also asked to have plans to ensure the employees’ living environment and activities for Tet celebration as they stay at the companies through Tet.

Firms will provide support for those who already have a place to stay and help rent rooms at hotels or guest houses for those without accommodation. If the companies can’t rent any places, they must provide suitable temporary lodging for their employees. According to Anh, about 30,000 employees have registered to stay instead of returning to their hometowns.

The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs advised firms to be more cautious when receiving more orders and expanding business after Tet like usual because of the complicated situation.

Accordingly, the ministry recommended the PM direct the Ministry of Health to issue consistent guidance on the circulation of people, goods and vehicles between pandemic-hit localities and other localities, while mobilising units capable of conducting COVID-19 testing to support pandemic-hit provinces and serve the needs of COVID-19 testing for drivers in the shortest possible time, aiming to reduce congestion in the circulation of goods from the pandemic areas outside.

For localities, it is necessary to implement measures to support goods circulation and ensure that vehicles transporting goods in service of the people’s consumption and production activities can move smoothly.

Pandemic-hit localities and neighbouring localities should proactively work with experienced cities and provinces to organise safe goods transportation and circulation models that are suitable to the practical conditions and ensure effective COVID-19 prevention and control.

In addition, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development should coordinate with relevant agencies in guiding the agro-forestry and fishery production process to ensure disease prevention and control, as well as inform the industry and trade sector about the agricultural commodities of food and disease safety to accelerate domestic consumption and serve exports.

* Hyosung Vietnam Real Estate JSC has recently donated VND580 million (US$25,262), including VND500 million in cash and VND80 million worth of medical masks and antiseptic water, to support the anti-COVID-19 efforts in Hai Duong Province’s Kinh Mon Town.

Hyosung Vietnam Real Estate JSC donates VND580 million to Kinh Mon Town.

In total, from January 30 to February 22, Kinh Mon has received more than VND8 billion (US$348,484) in donations from 80 agencies, businesses and philanthropists for its pandemic fight.

* Students in the northern province of Quang Ninh will return to school from March 1 after the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday was extended due to the COVID-19 outbreak, heard a meeting of the standing board of the provincial Party Committee on February 22.

However, COVID-19 prevention and control measures will be tightened at the local schools. Notably, schools in Dong Trieu Town, which borders Hai Duong Province’s Chi Linh City – a COVID-19 hotspot – will reopen in one week, depending on the situation at the time.

* Lockdown and social distancing measures were lifted in 14 out of 18 areas in Hanoi, Director of the municipal Department of Health Nguyen Khac Hien reported on February 22.

Addressing a meeting of the municipal Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control on the same day, Hien said if there are no more suspected cases of SARS-CoV-2 found this week, the city will remove lockdown measures in the remaining areas.

According to Vice Director of the department Hoang Duc Hanh, Hanoi has basically completed SARS-CoV-2 testing for people returning from the northern province of Hai Duong – the country’s largest COVID-19 hotspot.

Vice Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Chu Xuan Dung speaks at the meeting.

Meanwhile, Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Chu Xuan Dung stressed that although Hanoi has gone through seven straight days with no new COVID-19 cases recorded, the risk of infection in the community remains high.

He asked the committee and local anti-pandemic forces to continue strictly implementing preventive measures and conducting SARS-CoV-2 testing at hospitals, health facilities, clinics and concentrated quarantine areas, in order to effectively contain the spread of the pandemic.

Vegetables are sold at Phùng Khoang Market in Hà Nội’s Nam Từ Liêm District. VNA/VNS Photo Vũ Sinh

Vice director of Hà Nội’s Agriculture and Rural Development Tạ Văn Tường talks to Hà Nội Mới (New Hà Nội) newspaper about food safety management amid the COVID-19 pandemic

What has been done in Hà Nội to control the quality of food and particularly farming products to ensure food safety for consumers during special contexts like the COVID-19 pandemic?

Ensuring food safety is the responsibility of sectors and localities including the agriculture sector. To control the quality of food and particularly farming products from farms to markets, Hà Nội’s agriculture sector has been tightening control food quality with a focus on fresh products.

Last year, the agriculture department examined more than 6,000 samples of farming products for tests and found 335 of them failed to meet food safety regulations. As a result, up to 25 tonnes of unsafe food was ruined.

Besides, agencies under the department implemented programmes to support agricultural production and expand safe food supply chains. Hà Nội has concentrated cultivation areas that meet food safety regulations including more than 5,000ha of safe vegetables, over 1,300ha of fruits and teas, 182ha of aquaculture products and 88 pig farms that apply VietGAP standards.

Organic agriculture production is carried out on nearly 40ha. The city also has 164 high-tech agriculture production models and 141 food safety supply chains with nearly 9,500 products included in origin traceability systems.

What difficulties do you have in managing food safety in the city?

Hà Nội’s agriculture production areas have not applied standard productions like VietGAP, ISO or GlobalGAP, resulting in uncertificated quality of the farming products and a modest rate of products’ origin traceability. Many agriculture products are not processed, labelled or uncertificated, which results in unstable prices. There are 17,598 farming units in the city but most of them operate on a small scale and are located in residential areas. The delay in slaughterhouse planning also causes difficulties in controlling food quality, particularly in the processing stage.

What will you do to control food quality from farms to table this year?

We are implementing synchronised measures to boost production and consumption as well as developing food safety production areas. By the end of this year, we hope to increase the number of safe food supply chains by 20 per cent.

Agriculture agencies will also tighten inspections and post-inspection over farming producing and trading units and strictly crack down upon violations relating to food safety.

The agencies will work with local authorities to implement measures to reduce small-sized slaughterhouses and those failing to meet hygienic or animal health regulations.

We will also try to better manage the production, trade and use of plant protection products, medicines for animals, fertiliser and animal feeds.

We will continue developing farming products’ origin traceability system and publish relevant information at hn.check.net.vn . We will pay more attention to managing and supporting online trade for safe farming products.

The agriculture department plans to boost communication and information campaigns, calling on organisation and individuals to ensure food safety and public health. VNS

Forests in the region, which includes the provinces Lâm Đồng, Đắk Lắk, Gia Lai, Kon Tum and Đắk Nông, face a high fire risk because of hot weather. At the beginning of the dry season, the provinces instructed localities to establish fire-prevention plans and strictly implement them in the dry season. In Đắk Nông Province, the Forest Protection Sub-department in September instructed localities and forest owners to set up prevention plans. The sub-department has organised forest fire prevention drills and more inspections. Đắk Nông has 125,000ha of forests, including 78,300ha of natural forest and 46,700ha of manmade forests in danger of high fire risk, according to the province’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. In the dry season, which lasts between November and April, local farmers clear their fields by burning, which can cause fires to break out in forests near the fields. Lê Quang Dần, deputy director of the department, said the province’s forests have a thick layer of vegetation covering the ground and many forests are pine and bamboo forests, which easily catch fire in the dry season. At the beginning of the dry season, localities and forest owners cleared dry vegetation and set up fire breaks in forests. In Gia Lai Province, localities set up forest protection stations in fire-prone forests to monitor fires and protect forests around the clock before and after Tết (Lunar New Year). In Gia Lai’s Krông Pa District, the district’s Forest Protection Bureau, forest owners and the district’s communes have monitored forests around the clock to prevent fires and other activities that violate regulations. Nguyễn Văn Hoan, deputy director of the Gia Lai Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the province has provided information on legal forest protection regulations to residents. Gia Lai, which has the largest forested area in the region, has 514,000ha of forests, according to the province’s Forest Protection Sub-department. In Kon Tum Province, the province’s People’s Committee ordered the head of relevant departments, agencies and district level People’s Committees, and forest owners to take fire-prevention measures at the beginning of this year. Under the order, the head of relevant departments, agencies and district level People’s Committees will bear main responsibility for forest violations and forest fires. Kon Tum localities have prepared human forces and facilities, made fire breaks in forests, and established plans for preventing and controlling forest fires in each area. The Central Highlands region has more than 2.5 million hectares of forested land, accounting for 17.5 per cent of the country’s total forest area, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. The region has a forest coverage rate of 45.9 per cent.