Quick test stations at Đống Đa Secondary School in Đống Đa District. — VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Tùng

HÀ NỘI — Makeshift stations providing free COVID-19 tests for Hà Nội residents opened on Tuesday.

Khổng Minh Tuấn, deputy director of Hà Nội Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, said it collaborated with authorities of the urban Hai Bà Trưng and Đống Đa districts to set up 10 stations on Lê Thanh Nghị Street, Kim Liên Secondary School on Lương Định Của Street, in addition to another one in Thanh Hà Urban Area in Thanh Oai District.

Each makeshift is about nine square metres in area, fully equipped with wifi and power access.

People declare their personal information and health status. — VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Tùng

The stations use quick blood test kits imported from South Korea and are testing people with a connection to the hot spots of Bạch Mai Hospital and Thanh Hà Urban Area, where a patient of the hospital infected with the virus lives.

The measure is expected to help health authorities detect infection in the community and stop the spread in a timely manner.

People must stay two metres away from each other when queuing for the test.

People remain the two metre distance between each other. — VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Tùng

Earlier, on Monday, Nguyễn Đức Chung, head of Hà Nội People’s Committee, ordered the city’s CDC, police and medical workers to co-operate to provide quick tests at some crowded areas in the city, prioritising those at high risks related to Bạch Mai Hospital's COVID-19 cluster.

“Blood test results can be obtained after 10 minutes. This is the type used in South Korea,” said Chung, referring to the quick test that the East Asian country has used in its mass testing strategy.

A woman has her blood sample taken. — VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Tùng

As of Tuesday morning, Việt Nam had confirmed 204 cases of COVID-19 infections including 34 cases from the outbreak in Bạch Mai Hospital.

The latest patient is a 10-year-old boy who returned to Việt Nam from the Czech Republic on March 15. — VNS

The test result is obtained after 10 minutes. — VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Tùng