Many Da Nang-based freight transport enterprises has urged the local authorities to offer jabs against COVID-19 to all their drivers as soon as possible amid the unpredictable and complicated development of the still-raging virus resurgence.

The competent force checks the driver's papers for the entry into the city. Photo: THANH LAN

As the owner of an inter-provincial freight transport unit, Mr. Nguyen Khac Hau, the Director of Khai Hoang Ngan Transport Service and Trading Co., Ltd based in Thuan Phuoc Ward, Hai Chau District, hoped that all of his drivers would be injected against this highly contagious disease.

In his explanations, currently, transport businesses are showing financial burden as they still have to spend a large amount of their money on SARS-CoV-2 rapid antigen testing and antibody testing by the RT-PCR technique for their drivers.

Likewise, driver Tran Van Tan employed by the Da Nang Container Joint Stock Company, a large transport enterprise in the field of seaport and logistics services in Viet Nam, is also looking forward to receiving jabs against the deadly virus at the earliest to feel more secure whilst doing the transport task.

According to Mr. Vo Duy Nghi, the Chairman of Amity Logistics company, through actual calculations, a transport firm must bear the cost of about VND200 million per month worth of COVID-19 tests (2 times/week) for a fleet of about 100 drivers. Such a test costs VND230,000 on average. However, that cost is charged on the SARS-CoV-2 rapid antigen testing only, whilst the price of a  PCR test is many times higher, at VND800,000 - VND1 million each.

Besides, the test result of rapid or PCR techniques is only valid for only 72 hours. In reality, many test certificates expire whereas the drivers have yet to finish their transport journey, causing difficulties for the operation of transport enterprises.

According to the municipal Department of Transport, 2,242 drivers operating in the city have till date been inoculated, of whom 1,060 were taxi and bus drivers and 1,182 were cargo truck drivers.

Due to the specific nature of their work, drivers are at high risk of contracting the virus in the community. Therefore, it is highly necessary that drivers in the high-risk group should receive jabs against COVID-19 as soon as possible. This is also an urgent need to both prevent and control the pandemic, while ensuring the smooth circulation of goods to meet the market demands.

Reporting by THANH LAN – Transporting by A.T