Vietnam seafood firms in south of country hit by virus outbreak

Hundreds of workers at seafood companies in the south of Vietnam have tested positive for coronavirus, according to the media, after officials eased some restrictions in and around the nation’s commercial hub of Ho Chi Minh City.

More than 150 of the 1,000 workers at an unidentified seafood export company in Can Tho City’s Tra Noc Industrial Park tested positive for Covid-19, according to the news website VnExpress. The factory suspended operations for 14 days beginning Oct. 27, it said. The city, a four-hour drive from Ho Chi Minh City, has recorded about 500 virus infections in the past seven days, including 180 at three industrial parks.

Nearby Bac Lieu province reported 414 new virus cases on Sunday morning, including 210 tied to an outbreak at two seafood companies, Thanh Nien newspaper reported on its website. Local authorities ordered virus tests for everybody in high-risk areas and has increased efforts to vaccinate factory workers, VnExpress reported. Another 230 employees at a seafood company in Soc Trang Province tested positive for the virus, the news website said.

The new clusters come after officials began easing restrictions earlier this month in Ho Chi Minh City and surrounding provinces, allowing for factory re-openings and greater travel across the south. Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long warned in a post on the ministry’s website last week that the country risked another Covid-19 outbreak because of people flooding back to rural provinces from virus hotspots.

Vietnam on Saturday reported 5,244 new local virus cases and 64 deaths, bringing the country’s total infections to 915,603 with 22,030 fatalities, according to the health ministry. More than 24% of its population has been fully vaccinated, according to the ministry.

By Nguyen Xuan Quynh – Bloomberg – October 31, 2021