Vietnam exempts South Korean engineers from centralized quarantine

Mai Tien Dung, Chairman of the Government Office, told VnExpress Saturday that after considering Samsung Electronics’s proposal to exempt its engineers from quarantine, the government has decided to allow them to enter Vietnam without going to the centralized quarantine area for 14 days.  

However, in granting its exemption, Vietnam has required strict medical supervision for 14 days for the South Korean engineers who must also make medical declarations before entering the country, Dung said.

"The government’s agreement is based on specific and strict medical supervision plans from the corporation," Dung said.

The South Korean engineers will fly to Van Don Airport in the northern province of Quang Ninh and then move to northern Bac Ninh Province where Samsung Display has its OLED display module factory. However, they will work in a separate building to minimize contact with other employees.

Samsung Display engineers will come to Vietnam by private jet and be taken to a separate housing area in private cars. Specialized vehicles will take them to the workplace every day and their working area is separate from the current production area, Dung said.

Yonhap cited a statement from the South Korean Embassy in Hanoi as saying the first engineers will fly to the Van Don Airport on March 20.

Samsung, the world’s biggest smartphone maker, is the largest foreign investor in Vietnam, employing around 160,000 people.

Samsung Electronics accounts for a quarter of Vietnam’s exports, and the Southeast Asian country is South Korea’s third-biggest export market, and the fifth-biggest source of South Korea’s imports.

Vietnam has recorded 33 new active cases over the past week, raising the country’s total Covid-19 infections to 49. All the previous 16 patients had been discharged from hospitals by February 26.

The Covid-19 outbreak has thus far spread to 145 countries and territories around the world, with the death toll climbing to over 5,400.