A health worker at a testing labolatory (Photo: VNA)He made the remark at ateleconference on May 13 with the National Institute of Hygiene andEpidemiology, the Pasteur Institute, and testing establishments of the Ministryof Health (MoH).
Thuan said laboratoriesnationwide are now capable of testing 100,000 single samples per day, and thecapacity can increase by five- to ten-fold when it comes to pooled testing.
Vietnam has masteredsufficient testing techniques to detect and diagnose the SARS-CoV-2coronavirus, including the Read time RT-PCR for confirmatory testing, rapid antigentesting, and rapid antibody testing, he went on.
Guidelines for each type oftesting and different scenarios, including the scenario of 30,000 infectedcases recorded in the country, have also been issued, the official noted,asking the General Department of Preventive Medicine and the Administration ofScience, Technology and Training to hold regular meetings to share testingexperience and knowledge with other units and grassroots medicalestablishments.
There are 175 testing labscapable of conducting coronavirus tests nationwide at present, including 125 carryingout confirmatory tests, according to Nguyen Minh Hang, Deputy Director of the GeneralDepartment of Preventive Medicine.
Compared to the previousoutbreaks, Vietnam’s testing capacity has improved “very quickly” in thisfourth wave of COVID-19 infections. Nearly 310,000 samples have been testedsince April 27, when the resurgence began, she said.
Health officials pointed outthat the COVID-19 situation remains complex in many countries, including somesharing the borderlines with Vietnam.
Many countries andterritories have also recorded the emergence of new coronavirus variants thatare more transmissible and dangerous such as the variants first found in the UKand India.
As of the noon on May 13,Vietnam had reported 3,679 cases of COVID-19, including 2,234 local infectionsand 1,445 imported ones./.
VNA
