VOA慢速英语2021--为应对新冠疫情，越南关闭北部工业园区

Officials in northern Vietnam have ordered the closure of four industrial parks because of an outbreak of COVID-19.

The parks, in the province of Bac Giang, are to remain closed until the situation improves. "We hope the measure will be in place for just two weeks, but it depends on the situation of the outbreak," local official Le Anh Duong told Reuters.

Three of the parks house production centers for Taiwan-based electronics¹ company Foxconn, which manufactures iPhones and other products for Apple. Foxconn confirmed its operations in the province had been suspended and said it was cooperating with local officials on the latest virus fighting measures.

Bac Giang, which sits about 60 kilometers northeast of Hanoi, has been experiencing a new outbreak of COVID-19 that began in late April. Factory workers were among those infected.

The province has recorded more than 400 infections since April 27. That number was about one third of all of the country's COVID-19 cases over the same period, the Ministry² of Health said.

Local officials and companies operating in the area of the parks "will together establish a new way to prevent the virus spreading inside the factories," Le Anh Duong said. "We have no choice but to live with the virus."

In January, Vietnam gave approval to a Foxconn-owned company to build a $270 million factory to produce computers and tablets.

Reuters reported last year that Foxconn had decided³ to move some iPad and MacBook production to Vietnam from China at the request of Apple. The report said Apple's decision was linked to ongoing⁴ trade tension between China and the United States.

Foxconn said its other factories in Vietnam were still running. However, operations at those centers could also be changed if further virus prevention measures are ordered, it added.

Vietnam's VN Express website reported that officials in Ho Chi Minh City, in the south, have begun carrying out mass testing of workers in that area's industrial production centers. Additional anti-virus measures were also ordered in an effort to prevent new outbreaks, the officials said.

Hua Quoc Hung heads the local organization in charge of Ho Chi Minh City's industrial production centers. He told VN Express the COVID-19 outbreak in the north was troubling because many workers from the south had traveled to other parts of the country during holidays from April 30 to May 3.

Officials said that since the holiday period, 17,000 workers across the city had been tested for COVID-19.

Words in This Story

outbreak – n. a sudden or violent start of something unwelcome, such as war disease, etc.

province – n. one of the large areas that some countries are divided into

tablet – n. a small, portable computer that you use by touching the screen

1 electronics   

n.电子器件，电子学，电子技术

参考例句：

• About 45000 people worked in electronics in Scotland.苏格兰约有4.5万人在电子行业工作。
• He wants to brush up his knowledge of electronics.他想温习他的电子学知识。

2 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。