Private clinics to be permitted to conduct COVID-19 tests

ABO/VNA – Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on April 9 agreed in-principle to allow private medical centres to perform COVID-19 diagnostic testing following a proposal made by the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Health.

Private clinics to be permitted to conduct COVID-19 tests hinh anh 1Illustrative photo. (Source: VNA)

He also assigned the Ministry of Health to cooperate with the ministries of Finance and Justice as well as relevant authorities to promptly prepare legal documents permitting placing orders for testing services at private facilities which will be submitted to the Prime Minister for approval.

The move is expected to boost Vietnam’s capacity for COVID-19 testing.

As of April 10, Vietnam has reported 255 confirmed cases, including 128 recoveries and no fatalities.

Last month, the Ministry of Health announced a list of 22 state-run healthcare facilities qualified to conduct quick tests on blood samples and respiratory tract specimens to detect the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.

The list includes not only national-level hospitals such as the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, the Pasteur Institutes in HCM City and Nha Trang, the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases, Bach Mai Hospital and Cho Ray Hospital, but also provincial-level hospitals and centres for disease control and prevention.

(Source: VNA)