A man makes a health declaration at a coronavirus checkpoint in Dong Nai Province. Workers and experts have been allowed to travel between Dong Nai and HCMC - PHOTO: TNO

HCMC - After over 10 hours of issuing the order quarantining people arriving in or returning to Dong Nai Province from HCMC for 21 days, the provincial government has adjusted the order and allowed people to travel between the two localities.

The move came after many firms in HCMC and Dong Nai had voiced their outcry over the 21-day mandatory quarantine as the order would affect production due to the shortage of workers.

Under the new order, experts and workers at firms, factories and production facilities are permitted to travel between the two localities by staff shuttle bus, but these shuttle buses must have their plate numbers registered with the police. Lists of people on board the shuttle buses and pickup and drop-off sites should be made.

People on board the shuttle buses should strictly follow safety protocols, while the buses must not have more than 50% of their seats in use and must be disinfected each day, according to the new order.

Experts and employees who drive their private vehicles to Dong Nai Province must have their body temperature checked and make health declarations at coronavirus checkpoints. Violators will have to undergo mandatory quarantine for 21 days.

Each day, over 6,000 people travel to HCMC from Dong Nai Province for work, while over 10,000 workers in HCMC go to work at industrial parks in Dong Nai Province, the local media reported.

On June 4, the Dong Nai government issued an order requiring people who arrive in or return to Dong Nai Province from HCMC to undergo mandatory quarantine at an isolation center or at home for 21 days. They would have their samples collected for testing on the seventh and 14th days of their 21-day quarantine period and must pay testing and quarantine fees.