Medical workers take testing samples for people in Thuận Thành District of Bắc Ninh Province. —VNA/VNS Photo

BẮC NINH — The northern province of Bắc Ninh on Wednesday launched a production-residence-combined model in which workers don’t leave their factories after work or stay together at concentrated accommodations like dorms, hotels or schools.

The move is expected to help authorities and employers with COVID-19 prevention and control, particularly to isolate and trace suspected COVID-19 cases. Meanwhile, healthy employees will still be at work and companies’ production will not be disrupted.

Companies that apply the model can only have half of their normal workforce on duty at their factories.

Vice-chairman of the province People’s Committee Vương Quốc Tuấn said arranging workers to stay at the factories after work aimed to ensure safety not only for workers but also production activities as well as reduce the risk of spreading infections to the community.

“The model is unpreceded in the province but an effective measure to increase safety during the complex development of COVID-19 pandemic,” Tuấn said.

Workers with a negative SARS-CoV-2 test within the last 72 hours can go to work. They are required to commit to staying at their factory and leave without permission from the province’s Industrial Parks Management Board or agencies.

As many as 504 out of 1,120 enterprises in the province have applied the model.

From Wednesday, Bắc Ninh authorities allowed enterprises that meet disease prevention and control requirements to resume operation.

Once they apply the production-residence-combined model, agencies would help ensure healthcare, electricity/water supply, waste collection and treatment, toilets, camera monitoring systems, ventilation systems and proper supply of food and other necessities.

In Bắc Ninh Province, 1,120 companies with about 450,000 workers operate in 10 industrial parks and 26 industrial clusters.

Since the first COVID-19 case was detected in Thuận Thành Industrial Park on May 9, the province has reported more than 200 cases in 35 companies based in five industrial parks and 20 companies based in industrial clusters.

To curb COVID-19 infections, local authorities have ramped up testing in disease clusters and disinfected areas where workers live.

In the last seven days, more than 10,000 workers out of the total 70,000 in Yên Phong Industrial Park received quick COVID-19 tests. — VNS