Cleaners clean floors and doorknobs with an antiseptic solution at Việt Nam Garment Manufacturing Co., Ltd in Bá Thiện 2 Industrial Park in Bình Xuyên District, Vĩnh Phúc Province. — VNA/VNS Photo Hoàng Hùng

VĨNH PHÚC — The People’s Committee of northern Vĩnh Phúc Province has called for keeping focus on stopping the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) spreading in industrial zones and apartment buildings.

Vĩnh Phúc has a large number of workers and foreign-invested enterprises, especially Chinese enterprises. Currently, 87,000 workers are working in industrial zones, mostly in factories.

The provincial Management Board of Industrial Zones said it has asked all enterprises to conduct preventive measures, including spraying disinfectants, establishing checkpoints to check workers’ body temperature, supplying face masks to workers and customers, washing hands with disinfectant solution, and classifying and quarantining those returning from epidemic-hit areas.

Provincial forces have regularly sent inspection teams to factories to remind both enterprise leaders and workers to follow regulations on the prevention of the disease.

Enterprises have been asked to provide timely and accurate information on suspected cases and report to functional forces for quarantine.

In addition, prevention of the disease has also been tightened in apartment buildings.

In An Phú apartment building in Khai Quang Ward and Vinaconex Xuân Mai apartment building in Vĩnh Yên City, where hundreds of households, including foreigners, are living, the management boards have sprayed disinfectant on all the storeys, elevators, basements and parking lots, and children's entertainment areas.

Disinfectant spraying has been implemented three times per day. Warning signals on preventive measures in three different languages, namely Vietnamese, Chinese and English, have been installed.

Inaccurate information of people fleeing quarantine

Reports that hundreds of people from virus-hit Sơn Lôi Commune, Bình Xuyên District in northern Vĩnh Phúc Province have fled quarantine are inaccurate, the provincial Police Department has said.

Colonel Đinh Ngọc Khoa, director of the department, said the reports, which had been shared on social networks, were not true.

Khoa said before the quarantine decision was made in Sơn Lôi last Thursday, a total of 236 local citizens were absent with specific reasons, including working away from home, performing military services or being in jail.

These local citizens had been called back for quarantine. Up to now, more than 100 local citizens have not returned. The provincial police force has made a list of these citizens with specific addresses and worked with local police to monitor these people.

Lê Duy Thanh, permanent vice chairman of the provincial People's Committee, said after the zoning off of Sơn Lôi Commune, there were no cases of people leaving their residence without special reasons.

Thanh said the province has requested departments and press agencies accurately inform people about the epidemic to avoid confusion.

Vĩnh Phúc remains a hotspot for the COVID-19 outbreak. Sơn Lôi has been under quarantine since last Thursday after six infections cases were reported.

As many as 12 checkpoints have been set up along communal roads to supervise the quarantined areas. Police, soldiers and health staff were mobilised to be on duty at these checkpoints around the clock to ensure no entrance and exit without authorised agencies’ approval.

The province now has 74 people suspected of COVID-19 under quarantine.

The quarantine is scheduled to end on March 3. — VNS