Costs but no income for many businesses amid Covid

Delta International, a Hanoi transport firm, said half of its vehicles have remained unused for a month since orders have dried up, especially to the pandemic epicenter in nearby Bac Giang Province. As of Monday morning the province had reported 2,161 cases.

But it still has to pay salaries, parking fees, office rent, and others.

Its CEO, Nguyen Duc Nghia, estimated the company has lost VND200 million ($8,600) since the start of the fourth coronavirus wave in late April.

It has also spent around VND500 million to have its employees tested. He said some provinces like Bac Ninh require drivers to produce a certificate saying they tested negative within the previous three days to enter. The cost of a real-time polymerase chain reaction, or RT-PCR, test for coronavirus is VND700,000-800,000.

"The amount of money the company has spent on testing the employees is enough to buy vaccines for all of them."

The best solution is vaccination since then employees would not have to be tested or be quarantined, he said.

Companies in labor-intensive sectors such as manufacturing also have to meet various expenses.

Bac Giang Province had shut down four industrial parks on May 18 to contain the coronavirus, and, despite closing, companies there have to pay warehouse rents, buy personal protective equipment and pay for Covid-19 tests for workers, according to Do Thi Thuy Huong, vice chairwoman of the Vietnam Association of Supporting Industries.

Vu Duc Giang, chairman of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association, said many customers have informed companies that they need to deliver goods in time even if it means shipping by air, which would increase transport costs.

Some textile companies in pandemic-hit localities have suspended operations but still have to pay salaries to retain workers, he added.