8 May
A total of 640 factories and workplaces in Mandalay Region has started to resume their operations as of 5 May, according to a working committee on publication of genuine information and monitoring false news of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Ministry of Health and Sports has urged the factories and workplaces to follow the mandatory health guidelines to contain the spread of coronavirus infection.
On 4 May, 573 factories were reopened and 22,203 workers returned to work. On 5 May, 67 more factories were reopened again, the committee stated.
There are about 1,180 large and SME factories in Mandalay Industrial Park, and 150 of which requested inspection. Now, 72 factories have resumed the operations.
Those factories which returned to operations undertake food production, pharmaceutical production, production of essential devices in coronavirus infection treatment and prevention activities, veterinary medicine and feedstuffs, agricultural machinery and fertilizer plant.
The inspection teams are comprised of officials from the Supervision Committee on Industrial Zone, the General Administration Department, the Health Department, the Department of Labour, the Industrial Supervision and Inspection Department and Mandalay City Development Committee
The state has urged people to work from home for certain businesses. The inspection team checks if the factories have marked off six-feet distance for social distancing and have prepared the mandatory face mask and glove for every individual worker, systematic seating plan for transportation, thermometers, hand washing basin, systematic waste management, enough green space and healthy food. They also ensure that the factories must be ready for their workers to send the hospital if the common symptoms of coronavirus disease are found.
The factories and workplaces in the respective industrial zones across the country shall have to undergo mandatory inspection between 20 and 30 April to resume their operations in line with the regulations and guidelines on coronavirus infection issued by the Ministry of Health and Sports, the Ministry of Labour, Immigration and Population announced.
Over 3,300 factories have been inspected across the country as of 1 May. —Hteik Htar Naing (IPRD), Ko Khant (Translated by Ei Myat Mon)
