The locally made test kit to diagnose novel coronavirus infections will be shipped overseas

These products are made by the Vietnam Military Medical University and the HCMC-based technology firm Viet A Corporation, reported local media.

The kit is based on a reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, a technique that combines the reverse transcription of RNA into DNA with the amplification of specific DNA targets using a polymerase chain reaction. It can detect the novel coronavirus, known as SARS-CoV-2, in droplets obtained from the respiratory tract and blood samples.

Cambodia, Nigeria, Poland, Australia, Germany, Finland, Ukraine, Italy, Turkey and Ireland, among other countries, have expressed interest in made-in-Vietnam virus test kits.

The Vietnamese producers have sent 50 initial batches of test kits to Ukraine and 100 batches to Finland so that their partners can complete registration procedures for official imports.

The Hanoi government announced a plan to purchase 4,000 test kits, which can be used to conduct 200,000 tests. Most of these kits will be provided to local hospitals in the capital city while the remainder will be donated to hospitals in Italy, the most virus-stricken country in Europe.

Each kit includes a total of 50 tests and costs some VND400,000-VND600,000. Each test can be used on one individual, and it takes roughly two hours to produce results, including the time needed for taking samples.

The producer is able to turn out some 200 test kits per day. More than 40 local hospitals and centers for disease control have registered to buy these products. A number of hospitals and testing laboratories have already started using them.

HCMC prepares worst-case scenarios for Covid-19 outbreak

Passengers declare their health conditions at a local airport. HCMC has mapped out the worst-case scenarios for the Covid-19 outbreak

HCMC has set up more isolation centers, acquired more medical equipment and provided training for health care workers, having mapped out the worst-case scenarios for the Covid-19 outbreak in the city.

Specifically, the city has prepared isolation centers for 3,000 people and will raise the number of facilities to be able to accommodate over 20,000 people.

Aside from 400 infectious disease doctors, the city is offering training to more health care workers in various specialties to provide treatment for 1,000-1,400 patients.

Besides this, it increased the number of hospital beds from 600 to 1,600, equivalent to 16,000 infection cases, and added 1,200 medical ventilators.

Experts forecast that Covid-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2, could spread further and will likely last for at least several months or even a few more years, HCMC Party Committee Secretary Nguyen Thien Nhan told a meeting on March 16.

Last week, seven cases were recorded in the city. If one person tests positive for the virus, the competent agencies would have to isolate 280 people on average, Nhan noted.

Accordingly, the southern hub is set to quickly identify and place in quarantine all suspected cases and to keep coronavirus infections below 100 in the city, the city’s Party chief said, adding that significant efforts are needed to make this target achievable.

The municipal Party chief also encouraged local residents to share the coronavirus-related burden with businesses as the pandemic has affected all aspects of social life. Students have had to take time away from school for months, businesspeople have encountered losses and employees have had their salaries reduced.

Nhan suggested the city dwellers and companies active in HCMC adjust their daily activities and operations to combat the spread of Covid-19 and keep socioeconomic activities from a steep plunge.

Earlier at the meeting, Nguyen Tan Binh, director of the HCMC Health Department, said that five new confirmed cases in the city and 41 others nationwide are linked to flights arriving in Vietnam from foreign countries.

To address the situation, the municipal health authority will increase the number of kits that can quickly detect the presence of SARS-CoV-2 to 50,000.

The city will test and classify all passengers entering HCMC from virus-hit areas to minimize the risk of community spread. Further, it is preparing funding for operating 20 negative air pressure rooms at field hospitals in the outlying districts of Cu Chi and Can Gio, according to Binh.

Patient 59 tests positive for coronavirus after three negative tests

A health worker disinfects a Vietnam Airlines aircraft. The country’s coronavirus Patient 59 is a special case as she was found to have the virus in the fourth test - PHOTO: TNO

A Vietnam Airlines female flight attendant, confirmed as the country’s coronavirus Patient 59, is a special case as she was found to have the virus in the fourth test, according to the Ministry of Health.

Nguyen Manh Ha, chairman of Hanoi City’s Long Bien District, told a meeting on March 16 that the 59th confirmed case, who was a flight attendant on Flight VN0054 that landed at Noi Bai International Airport on March 2 and lives at a boarding house at 162 Nguyen Van Cu Street in Long Bien District, has been quarantined since Patient 17 was detected after arrival.

L.T.Q. was taken to the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Dong Anh District for a 14-day quarantine, Ha said, adding that she had tested negative for the virus for the first time on March 7.

After three negative tests, the patient was moved to Gia Lam General Hospital, but she then showed some symptoms of the Covid-19 disease, the local media reported.

The flight attendant was sent back to the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Dong Anh District on March 14 as she had developed symptoms of cough and fever.

On March 15, eight days after the negative tests, the fourth test result showed that she was infected with the coronavirus.

The district immediately reviewed her case and made a list of those who were in close contact with her to place them in quarantine, Ha stated.

Addressing the meeting, Hanoi City chairman Nguyen Duc Chung noted that the city had witnessed two cases where people tested negative for the coronavirus in the first test, but only seven or eight days later, they developed symptoms of the coronavirus disease called Covid-19.

As such, it is necessary to closely monitor the cases in quarantine, he said.

Travel on domestic rail routes suspended over Covid-19 fears

A staff sprays disinfectants along a train to prevent Covid-19 infection. Railway companies in Vietnam have temporarily suspended operations on some domestic rail routes over Covid-19 concern - PHOTO: VNA

Railway companies in Vietnam have temporarily suspended operations on some domestic rail routes beginning today, March 16, due to mounting concern over the new coronavirus, according to Vietnam Railway Corporation.

Hanoi Railway Transport JSC noted that it has halted the operation of 10 trains on the Hanoi-Haiphong, Hanoi-Dong Dang, Hanoi-Thai Nguyen and Yen Vien-Ha Long routes.

On the Hanoi-Haiphong route, the firm stopped the daily operation of the HP1 train departing from Hanoi station and the LP2 train starting at Haiphong station.

Meanwhile, two trains---HP2 and LP7---will only run on weekends. Specifically, the HP2 train will depart from Haiphong station at 6:40 p.m. on Fridays and Sundays, while the LP7 train will leave Long Bien station at 6:26 p.m. on Fridays and start from Hanoi station at 6:15 p.m. on Sundays.

Besides this, the QT1/QY2 trains on the Hanoi-Thai Nguyen route, the DD5/DD6 trains linking Hanoi with Dong Dang and the 51501/51502 trains travelling from Yen Vien to Ha Long will only run on Sundays.

Hanoi Railway Company will refund all train fares to passengers affected by the suspension of the trains.

Earlier, the firm had temporarily halted the operation of the SP1/2 trains, running on the Hanoi-Lao Cai route. The NA1/2 trains, travelling between Hanoi and Vinh, had their schedules adjusted and will only run on weekends.

Saigon Railway Transport JSC also discontinued the operation of the SQN1/2 trains on the Saigon-Quy Nhon route.

The SPT1/2 trains, travelling from Saigon to Phan Thiet, will only run on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays each week.

In addition, the HCMC-based railway operator applied a shorter itinerary to the SE21/22 trains that typically run on the Saigon-Hue route. They now travel between Saigon and Danang.

The railway authority also asked train ticket buyers on all ticketing channels, including train stations, ticket agents, websites and mobile apps, to provide their full names, national identity or passport numbers and phone numbers.

Covid-19, which is linked to the new coronavirus, has taken a heavy toll on the country’s transport activities. For the railway sector alone, the number of passengers last month fell 45% versus the figure seen in January and more than 47% over the same period last year. SGT