A deserted Truong Dinh Street in District 3. HCMC started a 15-day lockdown on Friday. VNS Photo

Colonel Hoang Duc Hau, Director of Vietnam – Russia Combined Tropical Science and Technology Research Center under the Vietnam – Russia Tropical Center of the Ministry of National Defense, said that the mobile Covid-19 testing vehicle was under donation of Russia, and the Vietnam – Russia Tropical Center was assigned for receiving, managing and putting it into operation.

This is the most modern mobile lab for Covid-19 testing in Vietnam to promptly analyze the sample tests to find virus carriers in the community.

The vehicle had ever been used for SARS-CoV-2 testing in Da Nang City, the provinces of Quang Binh and Bac Giang and it isnow being operated in Ho Chi Minh City.

The vehicle has its highest capacity of analyzing up to 400 samples a day and then the results will be shown within 24 hours. It can travel in every terrain and is equipped with two generators to operate in places without power.

The mobile vehicle departed from the capital city of Hanoi at 5a.m. on July 8 and arrived in the Vietnam – Russia Tropical Center in the Southern branch at 9:30 p.m. on July 9. At 10:30 a.m. on July 10, it was ready for receiving samples testing in HCMC.

Lieutenant Dang Minh Nhat, driver of the mobile Covid-19 testing van, said that the vehicles traveled non-stop from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City. He and other medical staff in the van are doing fine.

There are three testing staff working in a small lab room using negative pressure which regularly exposes loud noise but they have tried their best to give test result as soon as possible.

Dang Thi Viet Huong, a research assistant at the Vietnam – Russia Tropical Center, said that after receiving the assigned tasks, they promptly arranged work in Hanoi to depart for HCMC on July 3. Whenever the Northern region suffered from the pandemic outbreak, they all participated in sample test practice. They hope to help the country’s largest pandemic hit area this time.

Under the unification of the Military Medical Authorities, HCMC Department of Health and HCMC Center for Diseases Control (HCDC), the Vietnam – Russia Tropical Center in the Southern branch implemented the microbiological analysis to receive testing samples from HCDC at 5 p.m. on July 4.

On the first day of the working, the center received 1,203 samples and detected 30 positive ones. The Vietnam – Russia Tropical Center in the Southern branch has tested a total of over 30,500 samples and detected over 178 positive ones so far.

Source: SGGP

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