A company employing 70,000 workers in Ho Chi Minh City is now qualified to resume operations following its two-day shutdown for failing to meet certain requirements in preventing a novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak.

The municipal Department of Health confirmed on Thursday it had carried out an inspection of PouYuen Vietnam, a sports shoe manufacturing company, earlier the same day.

Located in Binh Tan District, the firm has approximately 70,000 employees who work in three shifts. It also prepares 800 vehicles to assist the workers in their daily commute.

The city’s administration shuttered the company from April 14 to 15 as the working conditions there posed a high risk of spreading COVID-19.

Following the latest inspection, the health department noted that the company had scaled down its operations to 30 percent its regular capacity and slashed the number of vehicles used to transport employees by 90 percent.

PouYuen Vietnam has therefore met all requirements for COVID-19 prevention and is now qualified to resume it operation.

Local authorities will continue monitoring activities at the firm as well as providing guidance on how to maximize safety for employees and reduce the risk of a COVID-19 outbreak.

The novel coronavirus, which first emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019, has infected over 2.19 million people and killed more than 147,000 globally as of Friday afternoon, according to Ministry of Health statistics.

Vietnam has confirmed 268 COVID-19 cases in total, with 198 having recovered.

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

Ho Chi Minh City has recorded 54 patients, of whom 46 have recovered.

Authorities have screened nearly 1,400 workers at local industrial parks and export processing zones so far, with all results coming back negative for COVID-19.

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