Viet Nam has capacity and medical biologicals for diagnosing the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), stated Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long. 

 Illustration photo

Deputy Minister Long made statement at a meeting of the Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control in Ha Noi on February 24. 

Long announced that the Pasteur Institute in Ho Chi Minh City, the Pasteur Institute in Nha Trang city, and the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology,  are among test providers that have been recognized by the World Health Organization.

In addition, Ha Noi and Quang Ninh are also capable of testing COVID-19.

Also at the meeting, Long announced that health declaration shall be compulsory for incoming travellers from South Korea upon arriving in Viet Nam.

This is Viet Nam's latest move in a bid to contain the spread of the virus that has claimed more than 2,600 people around the world and 79,363 others contracted the deadly virus around the world.

On February 23,  Deputy Minister of Transport Le Anh Tuan said Viet Nam has yet decided to suspend flights between Viet Nam and South Korea due to complicated development of COVID-19 epidemic in South Korea./.