Authorities in the Mekong Delta province of Hau Giang have required local farmers to test negative for COVID-19 before participating in the harvest of agricultural products.

Harvesters, including owners and drivers of harvest machines as well as porters, need to test negative for the novel coronavirus within three days before entering local harvest areas, Tran Chi Hung, director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said on Tuesday.

The regulation also applies to those who have already received two shots of COVID-19 vaccine, Hung added.

Local harvesters need to present their negative test results at checkpoints before entering the fields.

Those who fail to do so are required to file health declarations and undergo COVID-19 testing at these checkpoints. They must also pay for the tests.

The rule requires harvesters to declare their destinations and disinfect their harvest machines and vehicles.

If the harvest takes multiple days, workers have to stay in the harvest areas until the job is done.

About 40,000 hectares of rice paddy in the province has entered harvest season, Hung stated.

Vietnam had documented 117,121 COVID-19 cases as of Wednesday afternoon, with 22,946 recoveries and 524 deaths, according to the Ministry of Health.

The country has recorded 113,345 local infections in 62 provinces and cities, including 102 cases in Hau Giang, since the fourth wave began on April 27.

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