Test Kit Shortages Looms as Vietnam’s Covid-19 Cases Surge

The gap is due to a shortage of rapid testing kits used to screen thousands of residents at a time, according to state media.

Hanoi medical institutions and hospitals have been assigned to boost testing capacity.

Rapid tests can diagnose a blood sample in minutes but are prone to inaccuracies.

They are used to identify potentially positive cases that are confirmed using the more accurate, swab-based polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test.

Phan Quoc Viet, chairman of PCR test kit manufacturer Viet A Corp, said he was not concerned about stocks.

"Vietnam is not short of Covid-19 test kits," Viet told Reuters. "We have enough for two million PCR tests and are willing to provide enough kits for the country to conduct a widespread testing program".

(Writer: James Pearson | Editor: Martin Petty)

Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-vietnam/vietnam-capital-low-on-kits-for-mass-tests-as-nations-virus-cases-climb-idUSKCN250175