A police officer checks a delivery person in HCM City’s District 3. The city has created a database on delivery workers to ensure travel restrictions are not violated. — Photo thanhnien.vn

HCM CITY — To ensure smooth delivery and distribution of essential goods amid the COVID-19 restrictions, the HCM City Department of Industry and Trade has created a database of delivery staff that can be easily accessed by inspectors and notified the public about businesses that sell essential products.

It has apprised district authorities, the police and others about how to identify various people such as shippers working for delivery services and those supplying meals to hospitals, quarantine zones and other facilities, a key factor in combating the pandemic.

People delivering for e-commerce companies need to be in uniforms and have a travel permit issued by their employers and employee identity card. Information about the shippers’ vehicles, address and delivery route are easily accessible through QR codes.

Delivery staff working for supermarkets and other businesses will have name cards and documents issued by their businesses.

Inspectors can look up information about the shippers on their agency website, where the department has uploaded it. 

Shippers can only operate in one assigned district unless they are transporting essential goods to quarantine zones or health facilities treating COVID patients. For this, they need to carry their name cards, travel permits and the department’s authorisation.

The department also has information about and contact details of suppliers of essential goods on its website to enable the public to shop easily.

Its Communist Youth Union uploads the daily schedules and locations of mobile sales trips to distribute essential items on its Facebook page.

The department has been working on increasing the number of suppliers and distributors of agricultural produce and operating more mobile sales trips.

There have been more than 1,000 mobile selling sites, according to the department.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, southern provinces and cities can grow up to 5.7 million tonnes of vegetables in the remaining months of the year, ensuring sufficient supply. Southern provinces have the capacity to produce around 2.9 million tonnes of fisheries items this year.

Đồng Nai Province supplies nearly 10,000 pigs and 100,000 chickens every day, mostly to HCM City and other provinces.

However, transportation of these goods remains a problem, and traders and businesses having difficulty travelling to buy and sell them to areas with COVID restrictions.

A ministry working group is helping vehicles pass through checkpoints.

HCM City is the COVID epicentre of the country with more than 85,000 cases since the fourth outbreak began in late April. Social distancing began on May 31, and more and more stringent preventive measures have been put in place as the number of cases keeps rising.

Many traditional markets have been closed due to the pandemic, affecting the supply of vegetables and other essential goods. — VNS