DECISION

SAFETY ASSESSMENT CRITERIA FOR COVID-19 CONTROL IN LINES OF BUSINESS DURING SAFE, FLEXIBLE ADAPTATION AND EFFECTIVE CONTROL OF COVID-19 IN HO CHI MINH CITY

DIRECTOR OF THE STEERING COMMITTEE FOR COVID-19 CONTROL AND ECONOMIC RECOVERY OF HO CHI MINH CITY

Pursuant to Law on Local Governmental Organization dated June 19, 2015; Law on amendments to Law on Government Organization and Law on Local Governmental Organization dated November 22, 2019;

Pursuant to Law on Prevention of Infectious Diseases dated November 21, 2007;

Pursuant to Decree No. 101/2010/ND-CP dated September 30, 2010 of the Government on elaborating to Law on Preventing Infectious Diseases regarding adoption of medical quarantine, enforced medical quarantine, and specific disease prevention during epidemic period;

Pursuant to Decision No. 447/QD-TTg dated April 1, 2020 of Prime Minister declaring COVID-19 Epidemic;

Pursuant to Resolution No. 128/NQ-CP dated October 11, 2021 of the Government on safe, flexible adaptation and effective control of COVID-19 in Ho Chi Minh City;

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Pursuant to Official Dispatch No. 6666/BYT-MT dated August 16, 2021 of Ministry of Health guiding COVID-19 epidemic management in workplaces;

Pursuant to Decision No. 218/QD-BYT dated January 27, 2022 of Ministry of Health on Provisional guidelines on medical specialty in implementation of Resolution No. 128/NQ-CP dated October 11, 2021 of the Government;

At request of Director of the Health Department under Presentation No. 2338/TTr-SYT dated April 12, 2022.

HEREBY DECIDES:

Article 1. The “Safety assessment criteria for lines of business during safe, flexible adaptation and effective control of COVID-19 in Ho Chi Minh City” are attached hereto.

Article 2. This Decision comes into force from the date of signing and replaces all existing Decisions on Assessment criteria relating to operations in COVID-19 control.

Article 3. Chief of Office of the People’s Committee of the City, Directors of departments, agencies, and relevant entities, Chairpersons of People’s Committees of districts and Thu Duc City, Chairpersons of People’s Committees of communes, wards, ward-level towns, and relevant organizations, individuals are responsible for the implementation of this Decision./.

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SAFETY ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

FOR COVID-19 CONTROL IN LINES OF BUSINESS DURING SAFE, FLEXIBLE ADAPTATION AND EFFECTIVE CONTROL OF COVID-19 IN HO CHI MINH CITY
(Attached to Decision No. 1303/QD-BCD dated April 21, 2022 of the Director of Steering Committee for COVID-19 Control and Economic Recovery of the City)

I. GENERAL PROVISIONS

1. Definition

a) “an confined space” refers to a location with limited space and poor ventilation.

b) “an education institution” refers to a preschool, a formal education institution, an intermediate-level education institution, a higher education institution, a school for the gifted; a foreign language and/or computer education center; or an education institution or an education entity providing life skill courses and extracurricular educational activities.

c) “a social support facility” includes social protection facilities providing care for the elderly and children under special circumstances, persons with disabilities, rehabilitation for persons with mental disabilities, etc.

d) “a custody center” is a location for detaining and managing detainees, suspended individuals; includes a detention center, a detention house, and a detention cell in a border checkpoint post.

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2. General principles

a) In addition to compliance with COVID-19 control guidelines of Ministry of Health and other ministries and central departments, lines of business operated during safe, flexible adaptation and effective control of COVID-19 control must satisfy “Safe” level in the Safety assessment criteria in COVID-19 control for lines of business operated during safe, flexible adaptation and effective control of COVID-19 in Ho Chi Minh City (hereinafter referred to as “Safety assessment criteria”).

b) The Safety assessment criteria consist of 3 parts: general safety criteria, specific safety criteria, and safety criterion in food and drink services.

- The general safety criteria consist of 6 criteria (from A1 through A6) and are mandatory for all activities, operations, and lines of business in the City.

- The specific safety criteria consist of 9 criteria (from B1 through B5) and apply depending on fields of operation.

- The safety assessment criterion in food and drink services applies depending on whether an establishment organizes food and drink services.

c) A criterion shall be assessed as qualified if it is adequately fulfilled and unqualified if inadequately fulfilled.

II. ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

A. General safety criteria (TCATC): apply to all activities in all lines of business.

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- Anyone engaging in activities must wear face masks in accordance with applicable regulations^[1].

- Personnel are assigned to inspect and remind about wearing face masks.

(This criterion does not apply to preschool, daycare children; people delivering art performances, training, competing in sports but not making close contact to a confirmed COVID-19 case; people having a meal).

Criterion A2. Ventilation

- All entry, exit, and windows must remain open throughout operation duration.

- Adopt ventilation solutions in confined spaces (may use ventilation fans or ventilation systems; open doors of vehicles or rooms after each session of operation, etc.)

Criterion A3. COVID-19 vaccination

- 90% of employees, students, and subjects of social support facilities, custody centers, rehabilitation centers, etc. are adequately vaccinated against COVID-19 according to recommendations of Ministry of Health or have recovered from COVID-19 in the last 3 months.

Criterion A4. Disinfection

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- Disinfect high-touch surfaces (toys, chairs, tables, floors, toilets, outdoors, handrails, ATM, etc.) and vehicles with disinfectants (soap, Javel, Chloramine B, etc.) at least once per day (2 per day in case of an education institution, manufacturing facility) or when necessary.

Criterion A5. Visitor control

- Use QR code to record information of visitors.

- Assign personnel to log into the City COVID-19 Safety System to manage and use visitors’ information to serve the City’s COVID control operation.

- Assign personnel to supervise and remind visitors.

- Do not exceed the service capacity of the locations.

Criterion A6. COVID-19 control measures

- Establish Steering Committee for COVID-19 Control and COVID-19 Safety Team^[2].

- Develop Plan for disease control which consists of: operation/production scheme; handling procedures for confirmed or suspected COVID-19 cases; communication; policies on inspection, supervision, and report; etc.

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B. Specific safety criteria (TCDT): apply depending on lines of business of agencies and enterprises

B1. For social support facilities, custody centers, rehabilitation centers

Criterion B1.1. Management and healthcare

- Have designated health workers who have received training and education regarding COVID-19 control.

- Produce list of vulnerable individuals (individuals older than 50 years of age, individuals with underlying medical conditions, pregnant women, individuals not adequately vaccinated against COVID-19, etc.) for monitoring purpose.

- Conduct SARS-CoV-2 screening test for individuals recently admitted to the establishments; individuals recently admitted to the establishments must be negative to COVID-19 in order to prevent transmission to vulnerable individuals in the establishments.

- Prepare isolation rooms for confirmed cases (F0 cases) with appropriate scales with separate toilets and sufficient medical supplies (thermometer, pulse oximeter, etc.) in order to isolate F0 cases without symptoms or with mild symptoms.

B2. For dorms and living quarters of education institutions

Criterion B2.1. Management and healthcare

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- Produce list of vulnerable individuals (individuals with underlying medical conditions, pregnant women, individuals not adequately vaccinated against COVID-19, etc.) for monitoring purpose.

- Prepare isolation rooms for confirmed cases (F0 cases) with appropriate scales with separate toilets and sufficient medical supplies (thermometer, pulse oximeter, etc.) in order to isolate F0 cases without symptoms or with mild symptoms.

Criterion B2.2. Dwelling units in dorms and living quarters^[3]

Dwelling units must guarantee at least 4m‑/person.

B3. For manufacturing facilities

Criterion B3.1. Management and healthcare

- Organize medical department or enter into contracts with entities performing medical tasks and ensure sufficient number of health workers based on the scale of employees^[4].

- Medical departments must be training regarding COVID-19 control.

- If F0 cases are isolated at manufacturing facilities, assign isolation room with proper scales, separate toilets and sufficient medical supplies (thermometer, pulse oximeter, etc.) in order to isolate F0 cases without symptoms or with mild symptoms.

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- Comply with distancing rule in cafeterias: organize meals by working sections, avoid face-to-face seat arrangement, keep distance or install partitions between employees.

- Disinfect cafeteria before and after each meal.

B4. For accommodations (hotels, motels, etc.)

Criterion B4.1. Control, management, and care for visitors

- Do not exceed service capacity of the accommodations.

- If F0 cases are isolated at the accommodations, prepare isolation rooms with appropriate scales, separate toilets and sufficient medical supplies (thermometer, pulse oximeter) in order to isolate F0 cases without symptoms or with mild symptoms; employ health workers or enter into contracts with medical facilities or doctors who have received training regarding COVID-19 control and home care for F0 cases.

B5. For education institutions

Criterion B5.1. Maximum number of concurrent occupants^[5]

Minimum floor area of classrooms:

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- For primary education institutions: classroom area of 1,25 m²/student

- For secondary education institutions: classroom area of 1,5 m²/student

Criterion B5.2. Management and healthcare

- Have health workers who have receive training and education regarding COVID-19 control.

- Produce list of vulnerable students (having underlying medical conditions, not adequately vaccinated against COVID-19, etc.).

Criterion B5.3. Semi-boarding activities^[6]

Organize semi-boarding activities in a manner that guarantees COVID-19 control as per the law. In which, ensure a minimum of 1 meter between students when eating and sleeping.

C. Safety criteria in food and drink services (TCAU)

Criterion C.1. Dining quarters for customers

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- Implement appropriate distancing rule from time to time.

- Prepare sufficient clean cutlery for each customer.

III. ASSESSMENT

1. Methods of calculating level of safety (MDAT)

For lines of business without specific criteria, assess as follows:

MDAT (%) = (Number of qualified criteria of TCATC) x 100/6

For lines of business with specific criteria, assess as follows:

MDAT (%) = (Number of qualified criteria of TCATC + number of qualified criteria of TCDT) x 100/(Total TCATC and TCDT)

For lines of business that provide food and drink services, assess as follows:

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For lines of business without specific criteria but providing food and drink services, assess as follows:

MDAT (%) = (Number of qualified criteria of TCATC + number of qualified criteria of TCAU) x 100/ (Total TCA TC, TCAU)

2. Classification of safety level

- MDAT > 80%: Safe, as long as all general safety criteria are met. The assessed establishment is allowed to continue operating.

- 70% ≤ MDAT ≤ 80%: Moderately safe, as long as all general safety criteria are met. The assessed establishment is allowed to continue operating as long as all unqualified criteria are rectified within 48 hours.

- MDAT < 70% or any of the general safety criteria is unqualified: Not safe. The assessed establishment must cease operation and rectify all unqualified criteria.

IV. ORGANIZATION FOR IMPLEMENTATION

The “Safety assessment criteria for lines of business during safe, flexible adaptation, and effective control of COVID-19 in Ho Chi Minh City” enters into force and replaces all existing Assessment criteria relating to COVID-19 control.

Pursuant to the Safety assessment criteria above, departments, central government of the City, People’s Committees of Thu Duc City and districts shall cooperate with relevant agencies and entities in organizing implementation, inspection, supervision, and assessment of COVID-19 control measures within specific lines of business and practical situations.

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_[1] Decision No. 1053/QD-BYT dated February 6, 2021 of Ministry of Health.

_[2] Official Dispatch No. 6666/BYT-MT dated August 16, 2021 of Ministry of Health.

_[3] Circular No. 38/2018/TT-BLDTBXH dated December 28, 2018 of Ministry of Labor - War Invalids and Social Affairs; Vietnam Standard No. TCVN 3981:1985 Higher education institution - Design standard; Vietnam Standard No. TCVN 9210:2012 Vocational education institution - Design standard; Vietnam Standard No. TCVN 4602:2012 Intermediate professional education institution - Design standard.

_[4] Decree No. 39/2016/ND-CP dated May 15, 2016 of the Government.

_[5] Department of Education and Training is responsible for providing detail guidelines.

_[6] Decision No. 543/QD-BGDDT dated February 23, 2022 of Minister of Education and Training.

Quyết định 1303/QĐ-BCĐ năm 2022 về Bộ tiêu chí đánh giá an toàn trong phòng, chống dịch COVID-19 đối với các hoạt động, ngành nghề, lĩnh vực trong giai đoạn thích ứng an toàn, linh hoạt, kiểm soát hiệu quả COVID-19 trên địa bàn thành phố Hồ Chí Minh