A testing lab capacity of 50,000 samples per day located in the northern province of Bac Giang epicenter came operational on May 27, being the largest of its kind in Vietnam.

Inside Vietnam's largest Covid-19 testing lab located in Bac Giang province. Photo: VNExpress

With AMPHABIO HT-HiThroughput PCR Covid-19 Kit developed by Vietnam Military Medical Academy, it uses cloud-based AI model for detection of SARS-CoV-2, according to Dr Ho Huu Tho.

The method, which was licensed by the Ministry of Health, was firstly applied in the fresh outbreak of Covid-19 in Bac Giang.

He said the method gives highly exact analysis and detection of the virus with high capacity while costing half of prices compared to the traditional testing, said Tho, who is from Department of Genomics, Institute of Biomedicine & Pharmacy, Vietnam Military Medical University.

On May 27, Vietnam reported 227 infections, lifting the total caseload to 6,262. Half of the cases have been found in the ongoing outbreak that flared up one month ago.

Vietnam's cumulative Covid-19 cases. Source: MOH. Chart: Minh Vu

Bac Giang and Bac Ninh remained the hotspots with the highest infections among affected localities nationwide.

For that reason, first workers in industrial parks in Bac Giang and Bac Ninh were vaccinated on May 27 as part of efforts to curb impact on manufacturing and the global supply chain as the two provinces house hundreds of foreign-invested enterprises, including Samsung Electronics Vietnam (SEV), Apple’s main assembler Foxconn, Canon, among others.

On the same day, an intensive care unit (ICU) capacity of 100 beds was installed in Bac Giang to treat patients of the critical condition along with a 50-bed ICU installed two days ago.

In another move, the Ministry of Health announced one more person died of Covid-19, the 46th Covid-19 death in Vietnam so far. The 81-year-old man suffered septic shock, pneumonia, and sepsis.

The ministry also reported a group of 29 patients on the critical list, including some receiving extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO).

On May 27, Ho Chi Minh City confirmed around 30 infections detected in different districts citywide. The newest cases prompted the closure of some non-essential services namely religious practices, spas, restaurants (except for restaurants in hotels), barbershops, among others.