More than 600 traders and porters at three wholesale markets in Hanoi on April 18 tested negative for the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes the COVID-19 disease.

Taking a blood sample of a trader at a wholesale market in Hanoi

The results were confirmed by Khong Minh Tuan, vice director of the Hanoi Centre for Diseases Control (CDC). 

He said quick testing was conducted on request from Hanoi Mayor Nguyen Duc Chung to evaluate the epidemiological factors in the community. 

The testing will help classify suspected cases, zone off affected areas and promptly quarantine those suspected cases, so as to halt the spread of the virus among the community.

Health professionals took blood samples of 610 traders and porters at three wholesale markets in Ba Dinh, Hoang Mai and Thuong Tin districts. Initial results showed they were all SARS-CoV-2 virus free. 

Health professionals also took samples of all residents in Dong Cuu village, Thuong Tin district, where a local resident had been diagnosed with the deadly virus this week. Real-Time PCR test results would be available in a couple of hours. 

Local authorities in Dong Cuu village also placed in quarantine more than 200 local residents who had direct and indirect contact with the confirmed patient. 

They set up 12 checkpoints and cordoned off part of the village, affecting 399 households in the area. Volunteers were deployed to distribute daily necessities to local people. 

Hanoi remains the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in the country with 132 cases confirmed, making up half of the country’s total.