Three unauthorized workers contract Covid, food firm shuts down

An inter-sectoral inspection team found the number of stay-at-work employees at Bich Chi Food JSC, increased by 111 against the list earlier registered by the company. After testing the 111 workers, the team detected three Covid-19 cases, Dong Thap People’s Committee announced Wednesday.

The three patients have been sent to a concentrated isolation facility, with the company having identified 16 people who had come in close contact with them.

On Wednesday afternoon, Bich Chi Food told State Securities Commission and Hanoi Stock Exchange it would cease operation for 14 days.

Established in 1966, Bich Chi specializes in producing nutritional powder, shrimp pastries, pancakes, noodles and other instant foods.

The company reported net revenues of more than VND166 billion ($7.2 million) in the second quarter of this year, increasing 26 percent against the same period in 2020. It reaped after-tax profits of more than VND17 billion, down 18 percent.

It gained revenues of nearly VND302 billion and after-tax profits of roughly 39 billion in the first half of this year, posting respective year-on-year declines of over 9 percent and nearly 15 percent.