Authorities in Ho Chi Minh City have begun screening workers at local industrial parks and export processing zones in an effort to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

The screening started on Friday with the testing of 412 workers at the dormitory of Tan Thuan Export Processing Zone in District 7, according to information provided by the Ho Chi Minh City Media Center.

The tests will continue to be carried out at other industrial parks and export processing zones in the southern metropolis in the coming days to prevent COVID-19 transmission at these venues, as many workers are still going to work on a daily basis.

All of the samples will be sent to the city’s Center for Disease Control.

Local authorities will keep monitoring and inspecting workshops and factories to evaluate the risk of COVID-19 infection.

The city’s health sector will also continue testing arrivals at the domestic terminal of Tan Son Nhat International Airport and passengers at the Saigon Railway Station.

As of Saturday afternoon, over 32,600 people who were arrivals from foreign countries, had contact with COVID-19 patients, and were at risk of infection had been screened for disease.

The novel coronavirus, which first emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019, has infected over 1.78 million people and killed more than 108,800 globally as of Sunday morning, according to Ministry of Health statistics.

Vietnam has confirmed 258 COVID-19 cases in total, with 144 having recovered.

The country has yet to record a death from the disease.

The Ministry of Health reported no new case on Sunday morning, while 12 of the active cases have tested negative twice since receiving treatment.

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