Vietnamese hospitals have been using RT-PCR (antigen test) for detection of the new coronavirus with accuracy reaching world standards, Hanoimoi quoted Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long as saying at a meeting on February 24.

Vietnam's 16th patient of the novel coronavirus is being checked at a hospital in Vinh Phuc Province, northern Vietnam. Photo: Giang Huy

"In terms of Covid-19 diagnosis, Vietnam is capable of and has sufficient biological products for coronavirus detection," Deputy Minister Nguyen Thanh Long emphasized.

He added that Vietnam currently has three standardized testing institutes recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) that include the Pasteur Institute in Ho Chi Minh City, the Pasteur Institute in Nha Trang and the Central Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology in Hanoi. The three institutes have agreed on technology transfer and method of sample testing to other labs around the country.

The institutes have conducted technology transfer and professional training for 22 laboratories, which are fully equipped with machines, equipment and manpower meeting WHO-recognized standards. The qualified laboratories can give reliable results.

Currently, in some provinces and cities like Quang Ninh and Hanoi, Covid-19 tests have been conducted.

Vietnam’s Ministry of Health has also taken comprehensive, drastic and thorough measures to deal with the Covid-19, Long said.

WHO said on February 15 that Vietnam has responded well to the epidemic from the outset and prevented its spread.

The US Department of Health and Human Services has recently praised Vietnam's medical capacity and close cooperation in coping with the Covid-19 epidemic, believing that Vietnam will effectively combat the disease.