Amidst the global COVID-19 (Coronavirus) outbreak, most countries are being cautious and screening travelers from countries like China, Iran, Italy, and Korea. Some countries have even decided to ban the entry of foreigners from these countries until further notice. However, Vietnam has decided to exempt hundreds of Samsung Display engineers from a mandatory 14-day quarantine upon entering the country from South Korea.
Over 700 Samsung Display employees traveling from South Korea will be allowed to move straight to the company's OLED manufacturing plant. 186 engineers from Samsung have already left the Incheon International Airport in South Korea to travel to the Van Don International Airport in Vietnam. These employees will be separated from the existing employees working inside Samsung Display's plant and will have separate quarters.
Before making the exemption, Vietnam's authorities inspected the company's operations and deemed it sufficient to prevent the spread of the virus within the facility. All Samsung employees traveling from South Korea to Vietnam will provide medical examination reports that prove that they do not have the virus.
Samsung decided to send its engineers to Vietnam to prevent further delays in the manufacturing schedule. Samsung Display's OLED manufacturing plant is situated in the Bac Ninh Province in the northern part of Vietnam.
Samsung is the single largest foreign investor in Vietnam and accounts for over 25 percent of the country's exports. The South Korean firm has two smartphone manufacturing factories in Vietnam, along with an OLED display manufacturing plant. The company has also pledged to invest $220 million to construct an R&D center in Hanoi and create 800 new jobs.
