HÀ NỘI — Tests for coronavirus could be run at provincial hospitals in the near future, said Professor Đặng Đức Anh, director of the National Institute for Hygiene and Epidemiology (NIHE).

Before transferring the technology to conduct these tests, the NIHE would set up training courses and assess infrastructure, especially biological safety in laboratories, he said.

Deputy Minister of Health Đỗ Xuân Tuyên noted that the transfer would be conducted only when hospitals had assessed their infrastructure.

Last week, the NIHE successfully cultivated and isolated the virus, first reported in Wuhan City in China.

The NIHE was now in a position to master coronavirus testing, said Anh. The work would support epidemic prevention and control.

With the isolated virus, the NIHE has started to develop test kits for quick diagnosis.

At present, 22 hospitals are capable of conducting tests for coronavirus.

The Ministry of Health (MoH) highly appreciated the cultivation and isolation of the virus, and said it was a big success.

On Wednesday, Deputy Minister Tuyên presented certificates of merits to the NIHE and its six researchers for their dedicated work.

Việt Nam could now conduct thousands of tests per day if necessary, said Tuyên.

At present, Việt Nam was one of four countries which had successfully cultivated and isolated the coronavirus, besides Japan, China and Australia, according to the MoH. — VNS