Công văn 5619/SYT-NVY

On 31/8/2020, the Ministry of Health promulgated Official Dispatch No. 4674/BYT-MT on guidance on COVID-19 prevention and control regarding short-term work visit (less than 14 days) of foreigners.

To implement the Ministry of Health’s guidelines in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), enable units and organizations to invite foreign experts to Vietnam for short-term work visit and ensure compliance with COVID-19 prevention requirements according to regulations, the Department of Health hereby elaborates on the tasks, procedures for performance thereof and duties of relevant units (enclosed therewith).

The Department of Health requests you to cooperate in disseminating the abovementioned guidelines to units and organizations under your management so that they can adopt these guidelines when inviting foreign experts to Vietnam for short-term work visit.

The Department of Health requests the Department of Transport and Department of Tourism to mobilize passenger transport businesses under their management to be in charge of transporting foreign experts during their stay in Vietnam. Participating businesses shall register with the Department of Health and directly contact the HCMC Center for Disease Control and Prevention for training in COVID-19 prevention measures according to regulations, and the list of participating businesses shall be published for reference purpose.

Any difficulty that arises during implementation of the tasks provided for herein should be immediately reported to the Department of Health for resolution.

(Enclosed with Official Dispatch No. 4674/BYT-MT by the Ministry of Health and guidance by the Department of Health regarding short-term work visit (less than 14 days) of foreigners)./.

GUIDELINES

COVID-19 PREVENTION AND CONTROL REGARDING SHORT-TERM WORK VISIT (LESS THAN 14 DAYS) OF FOREIGNERS TO HO CHI MINH CITY

(Enclosed with Official Dispatch No. 5619/SYT-NVY dated September 25, 2020 by Department of Health)

I. LEGAL GROUNDS

Decision No. 878/QD-BYT dated 12/03/2020 by the Ministry of Health on guidance on COVID-19 quarantine at quarantine facilities;

Decision No. 1246/QD-BYT dated 20/03/2020 by the Ministry of Health on interim guidance on pay-to-stay COVID-19 quarantine at hotels;

Official Dispatch No. 4674/BYT-MT dated 31/08/2020 by the Ministry of Health on guidance on COVID-19 prevention and control regarding short-term work visit (less than 14 days) of foreigners.

II. REGULATED ENTITIES

1. Persons making short-term work visit of less than 14 days to Vietnam (hereinafter collectively referred to as “foreign experts”) include:

- Investors, specialists, highly skilled workers and enterprise managers and their families and other persons making a visit to Vietnam under an agreement with another country;

- Persons making a visit to Vietnam for official business or diplomatic purpose (hereinafter collectively referred to as “foreign diplomats”).

2. Persons coming into contact with foreign experts during the entry procedures and at work.

III. REQUIREMENTS FOR FOREIGN EXPERT INVITATION

- Foreign experts must undergo a Real time-PCR test for SARS-CoV-2 from 3 to 5 days prior to the date of entry into Vietnam (and obtain a negative test result). The test must be conducted in a  laboratory of a competent health authority.

- Every foreign expert and foreign diplomat must have international health insurance or the unit inviting the foreign expert must make a commitment to incur treatment costs in case the foreign expert contracts COVID-19.

- The unit inviting a foreign expert must incur all costs arising from medical quarantine, transport and COVID-19 testing for the foreign expert. Foreign diplomats are exempt from these costs (excluding costs of pay-to-stay COVID-19 quarantine at hotels).

- If a foreign expert is invited to Vietnam for fieldwork, it is recommended to choose Tan Son Nhat international airport or a border checkpoint nearest to HCMC (reachable by car) as the point of entry; if a foreign expert is invited to Vietnam for a meeting or agreement signing only, it is recommended to choose a meeting/signing venue and lodging place that are located in the province/city where the foreign expert enters/exits Vietnam to prevent the foreign expert from traveling through multiple localities, rendering COVID-19 prevention measures ineffective.

- Every foreign expert must arrive in Vietnam 01 day before the planned working day to complete health monitoring procedures.

- Collect a sample for the first test (day 1) from each foreign expert within 24 hours after entry to Vietnam and only permit the foreign expert to work if the test result is negative. Continue to collect test samples every 2 days thereafter (day 3, day 5, etc. until the end of the foreign expert’s stay in Vietnam). 01 day before the foreign expert leaves Vietnam, collect a sample from the foreign expert to provide quarantine and prophylaxis plans for persons coming into contact with the foreign expert at work when necessary.

- Foreign experts shall use the Bluezone application and keep a diary about transfer schedule throughout their visit to Vietnam (date, time, departure, name and phone number of people contact), self-monitor and inform their health conditions to in-charge health officials on a daily basis; only leave their lodging for the meeting, agreement signing, going to work or site visiting according to the working plan submitted by the inviting unit in advance.

- VIP guests holding the deputy minister title or equivalent and higher titles are not required to present the certificate of negative SARS-CoV-2 testing upon entry to Vietnam, use the Bluezone application and undergo a SARS-COV-2 test after entry to Vietnam.

IV. REQUIREMENTS FOR ORGANIZATION OF SHORT-TERM WORK VISIT OF FOREIGN EXPERTS

1. At the lodging place

Prepare separate lodging for each foreign expert in the lodging places (hotels, enterprises’ lodging places, other lodging establishments) arranged by the HCMC People’s Committee in compliance with regulations in Decision No. 878/QD-BYT by the Ministry of Health dated 12/3/2020 on guidance on COVID-19 quarantine at quarantine facilities or Decision No. 1246/QD-BYT by the Ministry of Health dated 20/3/2020 on interim guidance on pay-to-stay COVID-19 quarantine at hotels;

- Inviting units may register their foreign experts for quarantine at pay-to-stay COVID-19 quarantine hotels approved by the HCMC People's Committee (according to list announced by the Department of Health) or prepare other lodging places (such as construction sites, worker dormitories, private houses, etc.).

- The Department of Health (represented by HCMC Center for Disease Control and Prevention) and local governments shall appraise lodging places proposed by inviting units (that are not hotels); and, if the lodging place is qualified according to regulations, propose it to the HCMC People's Committee for approval.

2. At the meeting/agreement signing venue

- Prioritize holding the meeting/agreement signing on the hotel or lodging place’s premises. Minimize contact.

- Adopt all safety measures for COVID-19 according to the Ministry of Health’s guidelines at the venue (temperature check point, hand washing station, instructions, area for the medical unit, quarantine room, backup meeting room, etc.), ensure the venue is well ventilated and disinfected according to regulations.

- Ask the participants to stay in their seats during breaks instead of gathering. Serve individual food and drink portions to participants at their seats. In case of force majeure where the participants must have a meal together, maintain a distance of at least 1m between the participants; the seats shall be arranged alternatively instead of facing each other.

- Draw up a list of participants (foreign experts and contacts thereof) and attendants with all necessary information to facilitate contact tracing where needed.

- All participants of the meeting/agreement signing (including foreign and Vietnamese participants), members of the organizing board and other relevant persons shall continue to self-monitor their health conditions after the end of the meeting/agreement signing. If a person is confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 within 14 days after the end of the meeting/agreement signing, notify the supervisory authority, local health authority and inviting unit for prompt handling.

3. At the workplace

- Minimize number of people meeting or coming into contact with foreign experts at the workplace. Foreign experts must wear facemasks while working, not shake hands and regularly wash their hands with hand sanitizer.

- Request persons meeting or coming into contact with foreign experts to wear facemasks and regularly wash their hands with soap and water or hand sanitizer. Draw up a list of all those who come into contact with foreign experts at work to facilitate contact tracing where necessary.

- Assign health officials to provide assistance and monitor the health condition of foreign experts at work.

- Prepare a separate restroom for foreign experts at the workplace.

- After foreign experts finish working at the workplace, clean and disinfect the workplace according to the Ministry of Health’s guidelines.

4. Transport

- Foreign experts shall be transported by dedicated vehicles from the point of entry to their lodging place and throughout their stay in Vietnam in compliance with personal protection and disinfection requirements. Inviting units shall sign agreements with the transport businesses that have received training in COVID-19 prevention measures from the HCMC Center for Disease Control and Prevention (according to the list published by the HCMC Center for Disease Control and Prevention) to provide transport vehicles for foreign experts throughout their stay in Vietnam.

- Assign one vehicle and one attendant team to a foreign expert throughout their stay in Vietnam. Keep a diary about transfer schedule; ensure the planned schedule is adhered to and report the actual schedule to the district-level medical center on a daily basis.

- Comply with regulations application to transport vehicles according to the Ministry of Health’s guidelines.

5. Close contacts of foreign experts

- Wear facemasks, wash their hands and practice social distancing when working.

- Self-monitor their health, avoid coming into contact with the community for 14 days starting from the date on which they last come into contact with a foreign expert.

- If developing respiratory symptoms (fever, cough, breathing difficulties, throat pain), immediately inform local health authority.

V. PROCEDURES

- Units inviting foreign experts to HCMC for work shall each formulate and submit an entry plan, transport plan, lodging plan, information on meeting/agreement signing venue, workplace and transfer schedule, number of persons expected to come into contact with the foreign expert, plan to ensure safety of the foreign expert/foreign diplomat visiting HCMC and their contacts, etc. to the Department of Health and HCMC Center for Disease Control and Prevention at least 02 weeks before the date on which the foreign expert is expected to begin working.

- The HCMC Center for Disease Control and Prevention shall represent the Department of Health to appraise the lodging, working and transport plans for foreign experts within 05 days starting from the date of receipt by inspecting the documents submitted or physical inspection where necessary.

- After the appraisal, the HCMC Center for Disease Control and Prevention shall notify the Department of Health of the appraisal result and whether the inviting unit’s plans are qualified or not. If the plans are qualified according to regulations, the Department of Health shall notify the inviting unit in writing. Otherwise, the Department of Health shall request the inviting unit to revise and resubmit the plans for appraisal in writing. This notification/request shall be sent to the inviting unit within 07 days starting from the date of receipt of its plans.

- After receiving the written approval from the Department of Health, if the premises of the inviting unit are located in HCMC, the unit shall send the approved plans and an application for inviting the foreign expert to Vietnam for work to the Department of Labor - War Invalids and Social Affairs according to the procedures provided for by this Department. The working group of the HCMC People’s Committee shall appraise these documents and propose to the HCMC People’s Committee for approval of the foreign expert’s visit and these documents.

- After receiving the written approval from the HCMC People's Committee and entry permit from Vietnam Immigration Department - Ministry of Public Security, the unit shall send the documents to International Health Quarantine Center and the HCMC Center for Disease Control and Prevention for these centers to grasp the information and organize receipt of the foreign expert.

* For any inviting unit the premises of which are not located in HCMC, if the foreign expert it invites is to work in HCMC, it shall formulate and submit entry and lodging plans to the HCMC Department of Health for appraisal and proposing to the HCMC People’s Committee for decision. Application for the foreign expert’s entry permit shall be carried out in accordance with the procedures of the People's Committee of the locality where the premises of the unit are located.

VI. TASK ASSIGNMENT

1. Department of Health shall:

Act as the agency in charge of organizing, monitoring and supervising medical-related COVID-19 prevention activities applicable to short-term work visit of foreigners; propose transport and quarantine plans and COVID-19 prevention plans for foreign experts and foreign diplomats to the HCMC People’s Committee for approval.

2. HCMC Center for Disease Control and Prevention shall:

- Appraise entry plans, transport plans, lodging plans, information on meeting/agreement signing venue and workplace for foreign experts and foreign diplomats, and plans to ensure safety of foreign experts and foreign diplomats and their contacts; and report results of such appraisal to the Department of Health, which shall propose the documents on these plans and information to the HCMC People’s Committee for consideration and approval.

- Notify the transfer schedule of and information on foreign experts to district-level medical centers and relevant provinces for monitoring purpose.

- Organize quarantine and testing of persons entering Vietnam and provide guidance on these tasks for health units according to regulations.

- Monitor and inspect compliance with guidance on COVID-19 prevention and control regarding short-term work visit (less than 14 days) of foreigners by relevant units, organizations and individuals.

3. International Health Quarantine Center shall:

- Separate foreign experts from other people at border checkpoints; properly inspect foreign experts’ health at border checkpoints; inspect proof of negative SARS-CoV-2 result.

- Organize receipt of foreign experts at border checkpoints and transport foreign experts to pre-arranged lodging according to regulations.

4. District-level medical centers and commune-level medical stations shall:

- Participate in appraisal of plans for lodging, work, transport, etc. of foreign experts at locations in their districts/communes as assigned by the HCMC Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

- Assign units/persons for health monitoring at hotels, meeting/agreement signing venues and workplaces upon foreign expert's visit to Vietnam.

- Report short-term visits of less than 14 days of foreigners to their districts/communes (lodging, fieldwork, etc.) to steering committees for COVID-19 prevention and control of their districts/communes to have relevant units participate in monitoring foreign expert’s activities.

- Provide instructions on cleaning and disinfecting the environment of foreign experts’ lodging and workplaces (in their districts/communes) during the foreign experts’ stay in Vietnam.

- Collect a sample for the first test (day 1) from each foreign expert within 24 hours after entry to Vietnam and continue to collect test samples every 2 days thereafter (day 3, day 5, etc. until the end of the foreign expert’s stay in Vietnam); collect a sample for the last test from the foreign expert 01 day before they leave Vietnam.

- Handle foreign experts confirmed or suspected to have contracted COVID-19  according to regulations and guidelines of the Ministry of Health.

5. District-level and commune-level People's Committees shall: organize inspection and supervision of COVID-19 prevention during foreign experts’ stay in Vietnam.

6. Units in charge of lodging places, meeting/agreement signing venues and workplaces shall:

- Formulate detailed plans and assign affiliated entities and relevant individuals to prepare facilities, workforce and equipment and cooperate with relevant regulatory bodies in performing the tasks assigned in the guidance to ensure COVID-19 prevention.

Properly adhere to lodging, working, transport and meeting/agreement signing plans approved by the HCMC People’s Committee.

- Retain the diary of transfer schedule of each expert for 14 days starting from the date on which the expert leaves Vietnam and is confirmed to be free of COVID-19./.

Enclosed therewith is Appendix 1: Sample diary of transfer schedule

Enclosed therewith is Appendix 2: Checklist for entry documents

Enclosed therewith is Appendix 3: Plan for work visit of less than 14 days of foreign expert.

APPENDIX 1

DIARY ABOUT TRANSFER SCHEDULE

FULL NAME: ___________________________________________

APPENDIX 2

SAMPLE PLAN FOR WORK VISIT OF LESS THAN 14 DAYS OF FOREIGN EXPERT

APPENDIX 3

CHECKLIST FOR PLAN FOR WORK VISIT OF LESS THAN 14 DAYS OF FOREIGN EXPERT