Health sector’s COVID-19 testing capacity improves considerably

Hanoi (VNA) – The testing capacity of the health sector has improved considerably during the latest COVID-19 outbreak, figures from the Ministry of Health (MoH) show.

Facing the resurgence of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 in central Da Nang city and some localities in late July, the MoH ordered the enhancement of testing capacity across the entire health sector.

In less than a month, from July 23 to August 19, the sector tested 390,490 samples, or 47.8 percent of the total handled since late January, when the disease first appeared in Vietnam. The figure was 426,718 between late January and July 24.

In particular, 3,094 samples were tested from January 22 to March 5, or 70 samples per day on average. The number increased to 182,109 between March 6 and April 22 (3,874 per day) and 237,815 between April 23 and July 22 (2,631 per day). 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 the largest number of samples, of about 86,000, followed by Ho Chi Minh City and central Quang Nam province.

There are currently 123 facilities capable of conducting RT-PCR tests nationwide, with a maximum capacity of some 46,000 samples a day. They include 71 establishments carrying out confirmatory tests, with total capacity of more than 36,000 samples a day.

The MoH has set up testing support systems to help localities promote testing capacity when necessary./.