Amid COVID-19 restrictions and lockdowns, companies all around the world are facing supply chain-related issues. However, Samsung employees are being given special permission to visit Vietnam. Last month, 700 workers from Samsung Display were allowed to enter Vietnam, and now, some more employees have been granted permission to travel to the country.
According to a new report, nearly 300 workers from Samsung Display have been allowed to travel from South Korea to Vietnam after receiving special entry permissions from the Vietnamese government. Last Friday, a chartered flight carrying 294 employees of the company reached the Van Don International Airport in Quang Ninh Province in the northern part of Vietnam. Two more batches of Samsung Display employees will reportedly arrive in Vietnam in the coming weeks.
Vietnam has prohibited the entry of foreign nationals into the country since March 22 to fight the spread of COVID-19, and the ban will continue until the end of this month. However, it granted special permission to Samsung employees as a significant part of the country's exports come from the South Korean firm. The company has also pledged to invest $220 million to build an R&D center in Vietnam and offer hundreds of jobs to the locals.
A few days ago, the Vietnamese government had ordered Samsung Display workers to be under quarantine after one of the workers at the factory was tested positive for COVID-19. All 221 workers who were in contact with the virus-infected person tested negative for the deadly virus. The company had shut down parts of the factory, but the production has resumed now.