A health official (in white) shows senders how to self-test for Covid-19 in Binh Thanh district, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo by VnExpress / Quynh Tran
Fully vaccinated staff or those who have recovered from Covid-19 within six months will not need to be tested regularly, according to the Department of Health.
Fully vaccinated workers are defined as those who received their last dose at least 14 days before or less than 12 months ago, the ministry said in new guidelines released Thursday.
Businesses in “very high†risk cities and provinces must test at least 20% of their staff each week. These workers include those at high risk of contagion, such as receptionists, manufacturers and business leaders.
Direct suppliers of services and materials to businesses, such as caterers, in these localities should also be tested weekly.
For “high” risk cities and provinces, testing should be done once every two weeks on at least 5-10% of workers.
Drivers traveling between localities always need negative results, obtained by PCR or rapid tests, within 72 hours.
Under the new program, the Ministry of Health allows companies to perform rapid tests on their employees themselves after being trained by health authorities at least at the district level.
The test kits must be approved by the ministry, while the companies are responsible for the process and the results.
They should report the results to district health authorities within two hours of testing.
The new program is seen as a more relaxed testing policy as Vietnam gradually reopens its economy.
Ho Chi Minh City will resume most activities from Friday after months of restrictions.
Vietnam recorded 8,744 cases of Covid-19 on Wednesday.
