A medical staff conducts a test for SARS-COV-2 at a laboratory at Thiên Nhân Medical Centre in Đà Nẵng. The lab was approved for testing SARS-COV-2 by the Nha Trang Pasteur Institute. Photo courtesy Thiên Nhân Medical Centre

ĐÀ NẴNG — A laboratory of Thiện Nhân Hi-tech Medicine Centre has been certified by the Nha Trang Pasteur Institute to test for SARS-COV-2, making it the fifth health centre in Đà Nẵng with approval for coronavirus testing.

The city’s health department said it’s the first private health centre in the city to be allowed to conduct real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests after the city’s Centre for Disease Control (CDC), the Ministry of Public Security’s No 199 Hospital, the central C Hospital and Vinmec Hospital.

It said the lab was among the key health centres and hospitals in the city that joined the fight against two waves of COVID-19 in the city last year.

The approval will boost the city’s health system's ability to deal with another possible outbreak.

The five hospitals and health centres in the city can test 150,000 samples for SARS-COV-2 each day, the department said.

The Director of the city’s health department, Ngô Thị Kim Yến said the city has not hosted COVID-19 ‘vaccine passport’ tourists yet and strict prevention measures have been in place among local residents and visitors since last August.

According to the General Department of Preventive Medicine under the Ministry of Health, more than 100 healthcare facilities nationwide have been approved by the Ministry of Health to perform tests for COVID-19 and announce positive cases. — VNS