Viet Nam needs a new COVID-19 testing strategy in pursuing the dual goal of containing the pandemic and restarting the economy, the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control said Thursday. 

The National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, led by
Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam, convenes a meeting on August 3, 2020
to discuss on a new stragegy for COVID pandemic response to realize the dual
goal of the pandemic containment and economic recovery. Photo: VGP

As the country is considering resumption of internatioal commercial flights, the committee’s members, including health experts suggested quick tests should be carried out at international airports, border gates and public places to early detect infected cases.

Professor Dang Duc Anh, head of the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology said that as antigen testing can produce accurate results in a short period of time, it should be used in such places like airports and centralized quarantine camps.

NguyenThi Lien Huong, Deputy Director General of Sao Thai Duong Joint Stock Company, said her company has manufactured Real-Time Loop Mediated Isothermal Amplification (RT-LAMP), a rapid detection kit, with the same accuracy rate of RT-PCR kit.

Meanwhile, the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology is working with partners to speed up the transfer of a rapid testing technology from the US.

As of 6:06 pm on September 3, Viet Nam had 1,046 COVID-19 cases, including 755 recoveries and 35 fatalities.

The patient tally includes 691 locally transmitted cases of COVID-19 while the rest are imported cases.

Viet Nam’s low-cost approach to combating COVID-19 has been widely recognized by the international community. Up to now, the country’s total expenses for the pandemic containment were estimated at at nearly US$400 million./.