More than 19 provinces/cities in Vietnam in lockdown, including Ho Chi Minh City

Due to the significant increase of Covid-19 infections in Vietnam, more than 19 provinces/cities in Vietnam are applying lockdown regulations based on Directive No. 16/CT-TTg of the Prime Minister._¹ Accordingly, people are permitted to go outside only for (i) purchasing food, medicine, and other essential goods; (ii) emergencies (e.g., healthcare, vaccination, disaster); and (iii) working in limited offices and businesses (e.g., at the State offices, companies providing essential services)._² On July 27, 2021, the Ministry of Industry and Trade issued a comprehensive list of essential goods, classified under groups of food, input materials for manufacturing, fuels and energy, and other goods subject to specific demands of each location._³ 

Specifically, Ho Chi Minh City is under lockdown from July 9, 2021 till the end of August 15, 2021 with nighttime curfew from 6pm to 6am of the next day._⁴

Covid-19 vaccination facilitated but not compulsory

In Vietnam, Covid-19 is not subject to compulsory vaccination yet._⁵ Therefore, at the moment, there is no legal basis for the authority to force Covid-19 vaccination on the people.

In practice, Vietnam has initiated its vaccination campaigns since March 8, 2021 and continued to facilitate the vaccination until now.  Up to July 15, 2021, Vietnam has approved six Covid-19 vaccines for emergency use, including AstraZeneca, Sputnik V (Gam-Covid-Vac), Vero Cell (Sinopharm), Pfizer/BioNTech (Comirnaty), Moderna (Spikevax), and Janssen.  Earlier this month, the Ministry of Health has requested the Chairman of the People’s Committee of all provinces and cities to proceed with vaccination for all people who are above 18 in their area._⁶

Restrictions on manufacturing, distribution, and sale of goods in lockdown areas

In principle, manufacturing companies in lockdown areas are only allowed to maintain the production if they can arrange for the employees to concurrently work and quarantine at their company. Particularly, manufacturing companies in Ho Chi Minh City must register to implement either measure of (i) ‘3 at one place’ (employees to work, eat, and rest at the same place) or (ii) ‘1 route – 2 destinations’ (a single transport route for employees to commute from the manufacturing location to the concentrated accommodation)._⁷ Moreover, such manufacturing companies must strictly ensure Covid-19 prevention and control at their company and carry out Covid-19 testing for their employees every seven days at their own expenses._⁸

Only vehicles to distribute goods for construction, manufacturing, trading, import-export, and consumption, which have valid QR code-based documents for identification, are allowed to circulate goods across provinces and cities without examination at checkpoints._⁹ Drivers also need to have Covid-19 negative certificate, valid within three days since the test result._¹⁰ Shippers can only deliver essential goods; based on specific regulations of each province or city, they must have necessary tools for identification, such as QR code, uniform, name card,… and can only operate in one specific area, such as one ward, district, province or city._¹¹

Other restrictions are subject to regulations of each province or city.  For example, in Ho Chi Minh City, traditional markets are only allowed to sell food and essential goods and must satisfy many safety conditions, such as ensuring open and airy space, installing barriers between buyers and sellers, decreasing the scale to about 30%, operating alternately on even and odd days…_¹²

To adapt to the current situation, manufacturing companies need to constantly monitor practical and regulatory updates on Covid-19 to implement timely responses.  If you have any questions or concerns regarding Vietnam’s regulations in Covid-19 situation for your business, our experienced lawyers are always available at letran@corporatecounsels.vn

1. Hanoi, Da Nang, Dong Nai, Binh Duong, Binh Phuoc, Tay Ninh, Ba Ria-Vung Tau,…
2. Directive No. 16/CT-TTg of the Prime Minister
3. Official Letter No. 4481/BCT-TTTN of the Ministry of Industry and Trade dated July 27, 2021
4. Official Letter No. 2556/UBND-VX of the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City dated August 1, 2021; Official Letter No. 2490/UBND-VX of the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City dated July 26, 2021
5. Circular No. 38/2017/TT-BYT of the Ministry of Health dated October 17, 2017
6. Official Letter No. 2242/LDTBXH-TLD-PTM of the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs dated July 14, 2021
7. Official Letter No. 2468/UBND-VX of the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City dated July 23, 2021; Official Letter No. 2556/UBND-VX of the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City dated August 1, 2021
8. Official Letter No. 2337/UBND-TH of the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City dated July 13, 2021
9. Official Letter No. 1015/TTg-CN of the Prime Minister dated July 25, 2021; Official Letter No. 5187/VPCP-CN of the Office of Government dated July 29, 2021
10. Official Letter No. 1015/TTg-CN of the Prime Minister dated July 25, 2021; Official Letter No. 5187/VPCP-CN of the Government’s Office dated July 29, 2021
11. Official Letter No. 2491/UBND-DT of the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City dated July 26, 2021; Official Letter No. 3635/UBND-KT of the People’s Committee of Binh Duong Province dated August 1, 2021
12. Official Letter No. 2468/UBND-VX of the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City dated July 23, 2021; Official Letter No. 2556/UBND-VX of the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City dated August 1, 2021