Hanoi (VNA) – As the fourth wave of COVID-19 infections has beenslowly declining and Ho Chi Minh City has been gradually reopening the economy, workersare being called back to factories in the hope of restoring production tonormal level.

Half of employees of Vinh Tien Paper JSC, orabout 100, have returned to work since the beginning of this week. The companyhad been keeping its production running by letting just a dozen of workers eat,work and live on-site since early July.

As demand for notebooks and other school supplies has been on the rise at the start of the new academic year, Vinh Tien was allowed to bringback one third of its workforce through the “one route, two destinations”scheme. And now, with all of its workers have been fully vaccinated againstCOVID-19 with two jabs, more are back to work.

To get itself prepared for the “new normal,” Vinh Tiencontinues giving away rapid test kits to its employees, arrange a specifiedarea for quarantine if any of them is detected with the virus, and disinfect itsfacility once per week.

If HCM City’s reopening plan is on track, Vinh Tienexpects to fully resume production from October onward, said Chairman and GeneralDirector Lam An Dau.

“I think the city should boldly allow businesses,especially those with a high rate of fully-vaccinated workers, to resumeproduction without the introduction of extra virus control rules,” he said, addingthat it will enable the company to provide jobs for the workers and help themearn a living.

With the “three-on-site” scheme adopted, Dony GarmentCompany has been able to maintain production with around 20 percent of itsheadcount which increased to 30 percent in early September. However, thecompany still suffered big losses from rising costs and had to reject ordersover the fear of not being able to fulfill them on time.

Dony’s productivity under the “three-on-site” scheme insix months is just equal to that under normal conditions for a month, saidGeneral Director Pham Quang Anh.

He suggested the city to abandon the scheme and let firmsmake commitments to keeping the virus out of their factories. If restrictionslast longer, they will greatly affect production, he explained.

Operations at Duc Thanh Wood Processing JSC have beenrestored with about 200 workers over the last month. They have been inoculatedwith one jab and tested for the coronavirus on a regular basis.

“We have made ourselves ready (for the reopening) withmaterials stockpiling for 3 – 6 months,” a company representative said.However, he admitted that his company is struggling to call back workers as amajority of them have returned to their hometowns, lived in locked down areas,or are being under treatment for contracting COVID-19.

Businesses are looking forwards to HCM City’s reopening sothey can keep orders and generate earnings to provide income for workers, saidChu Tien Dung, Chairman of the municipal Business Association.

He urged the Ministry of Health to revise a set ofindicators for verifying a COVID-19-free zone, given that Prime Minister PhamMinh Chinh has allowed the economy to reopen with COVID-19 rules in place.

Current strict social distancing measures should not goon any longer, he said./.