Vietnam company to begin making 10,000 COVID-19 test kits daily
Friday, March 06, 2020, 15:44 GMT+7
A company behind successful research on Vietnam's homemade test kits for the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is capable of manufacturing 10,000 kits daily, and increase production threefold if necessary, the state media has reported.
Research on the test kit for early COVID-19 discovery has been successful, the Vietnamese Ministry of Science and Technology said on Thursday, according to the Vietnam News Agency.
The RT-PCR (Real time-Polymerase chain reaction) research was conducted by the Vietnam Military Medical University and the Viet A Corporation.
The Vietnam-made kits can reveal test results after a little more than one hour.
Speaking at the declaration ceremony on Thursday, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Pham Cong Tac emphasized the project’s importance as the COVID-19 epidemic remained a global threat.
The results confirmed Vietnamese scientists’ high professional skills and the ministry’s determination in contributing to the epidemic's prevention and control, Tac was quoted by the state media.
Lieutenant General Do Quyet, Director of the Vietnam Military Medical University, said the kit was researched, completed and tested thoroughly by the Central Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology and compared to the test kits being used by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
The Vietnamese product has proved to provide results similar to those provided by the WHO kits, he said, according to the Vietnam News Agency.
The Ministry of Health on Wednesday issued a decision for the kit to put in use. The Viet A Corporation is capable of manufacturing 10,000 kits per day, and can increase production threefold if needed.
The products can meet Vietnam's domestic demand for COVID-19 testing tools as well as demand for export to support other countries, the Vietnam News Agency cited experts as saying.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Institute of Biotechnology under the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology also completed the development of test kits for the COVID-19.
The kits are waiting for further assessment before being put in use.
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