Private clinics to be permitted to conduct COVID-19 tests
Hanoi (VNA) – Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on
April 9 agreed in-principle to allow private medical centres to perform
COVID-19 diagnostic testing following a proposal made by the Ministry of
Finance and Ministry of Health.
He also assigned the Ministry of Health to cooperate with
the ministries of Finance and Justice as well as relevant authorities to
promptly prepare legal documents permitting placing orders for testing services at private
facilities which will be submitted to the Prime Minister for approval.
The move is expected to boost Vietnam’s capacity for
COVID-19 testing.
As of April 10, Vietnam has reported 255 confirmed cases,
including 128 recoveries and no fatalities.
Last month, the Ministry of Health announced a list of 22
state-run healthcare facilities qualified to conduct quick tests on blood samples and
respiratory tract specimens to detect the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.
The list includes not only national-level hospitals such as
the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, the Pasteur Institutes in
HCM City and Nha Trang, the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases, Bach Mai
Hospital and Cho Ray Hospital, but also provincial-level hospitals and centres
for disease control and prevention./.