Workers are seen storming out of the factory on the afternoon of May 26 for fears of contracting Covid-19. POLICE
The Svay Rieng Provincial Administration said that areas of the bicycle assembly factory A & J (Cambodia) Co Ltd in the Tai Seng 1 Special Economic Zone in Bavet town have been shut down and turned into a quarantine centre after more than 1,000 workers fled the premises fearing Covid-19 infection on May 26.
The provincial administration said 54 out of 145 people were tested positive for Covid-19 in the front building of the factory.
“Workers in other buildings rushed out of the factory in fear, despite efforts by the factory’s team to explain the situation,” the statement said.
Authorities are working with factory management to search for staff who had direct or indirect contact with infected people and are inspecting other buildings to evaluate the risk of infection in the whole factory.
Local authorities have been instructed by the provincial administration to take care of workers who left the factory before being tested and tell them to quarantine at home and follow up with health checks.
So Phan, 37-year-old worker at the factory, told The Post that he fled the factory out of fear, but believed he had no contact with other workers.
“Village authorities told me not to go to work and stay at home for 14 days. I do not know if the factory will pay me because there has been no notification,” he said.
Svay Rieng provincial governor Men Vibol told The Post on May 27 that the factory had temporarily suspended some production and made one building a quarantine area. Other areas of the factory will operate as normal.
“Other factories in the province that do not have Covid-19 cases are still operating normally,” said Vibol.
He added that most workers still do not understand Covid-19 and vaccinations. They still believe vaccines won’t help them.
Vibol appealed to all workers and people to cooperate in preventing the disease from spreading.
“I would like to ask the Svay Rieng provincial authorities to consider suspending all factory activities in the province for a while to reduce the spread of Covid-19,” said Pav Sina, president of the Collective Union of Movement of Workers.
The discovery of Covid positive workers in factories in special economic zones in Svay Rieng province is a worrying development, and the situation could be exacerbated when there are large numbers of workers.
Vibol stated there is no plan to shut down all factories in the province for now, but the provincial administration and factories have closed areas where workers are positive.
“For factories that do not have problems, their production lines are still operating normally, but the provincial administration is still continuing to reach out to those who had direct and indirect contact with infected people to test and quarantine,” he said.
Justice Ministry spokesman Kim Santepheap called on workers to cooperate with health officials and provide Covid-19 samples. Otherwise they could be fined of 1 to 5 million riel ($250 to $1,250) and up to five years in prison.
Santepheap added that the activities that took place at the factory were an act of non-cooperation with health officials, which has a fine of 1 to 5 million riels. And this fine doesn’t mean that a person could avoid testing for Covid-19.
