A worker of the disease control centre of Quang Ninh province conducts COVID-19 testing (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – The testing capacity of the healthsector has improved considerably during the latest COVID-19 outbreak, figuresfrom the Ministry of Health (MoH) show.
Facing the resurgence of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 in central Da Nang city andsome localities in late July, the MoH ordered the enhancement of testingcapacity across the entire health sector.
In less than a month, from July 23 to August 19, the sector tested 390,490samples, or 47.8 percent of the total handled since late January, when thedisease first appeared in Vietnam. The figure was 426,718 between late Januaryand July 24.
In particular, 3,094 samples were tested from January 22 to March 5, or 70samples per day on average. The number increased to 182,109 between March 6 andApril 22 (3,874 per day) and 237,815 between April 23 and July 22 (2,631 perday). The average reached 14,470 between July 23 and 1pm on August 19.
Since July 25, when the new outbreak began in Da Nang, the city has handled thelargest number of samples, of about 86,000, followed by Ho Chi Minh City andcentral Quang Nam province.
There are currently 123 facilities capable of conducting RT-PCR testsnationwide, with a maximum capacity of some 46,000 samples a day. They include71 establishments carrying out confirmatory tests, with total capacity of morethan 36,000 samples a day.
The MoH has set up testing support systems to help localities promote testingcapacity when necessary./.
VNA
