Hanoians mass test for Covid-19 after fresh outbreak

By Tung Dinh July 31, 2020 | 06:36 am PT

Thousands of Hanoians have been tested for the novel coronavirus after new community transmissions surfaced in central Da Nang City.

Da Nang returnees in Hanoi are waiting for their Covid-19 tests in a classroom at Thanh Cong Secondary School on the morning of July 31, 2020. According to Dr. Khong Minh Tuan, Deputy Director of theHanoiCenter for Disease Control (CDC), as of midday of July 31, 21,732 people in the city have been tested.

Da Nang returnees in Hanoi wait for their Covid-19 tests in a classroom at Thanh Cong Secondary School on the morning of July 31, 2020. According to Dr. Khong Minh Tuan, deputy director of the Hanoi Center for Disease Control (CDC), as of midday on July 31, around 21,732 city dwellers had been tested.

After having guidelines from the citys administration, local peoples committee and group of residents urgently review people travelling from central Quang Nam Province and Da Nang City and take their samples for the Covid-19 test, said Dang Thi Hong, deputy chairperson of Thanh Cong Wards Peoples Committee.

"Following city administration guidelines, those returning from Da Nang City and neighboring Quang Nam Province were urgently tested for Covid-19," said Dang Thi Hong, deputy chairperson of Thanh Cong Ward People's Committee.
Da Nang, a popular tourism destination that attracted thousands of tourists after the government eased social distancing, has now become the country’s Covid-19 hotspot after 99 days without a single case of local transmission.
As of Friday morning 93 people have been diagnosed with the disease since it resurfaced in the community on July 25, 79 of them in Da Nang.

A medic checks body temperature of a woman before the test.

A medic checks the body temperature of a woman ahead of testing.

Residents must fill in health declaration forms before being tested.

Completed health declarations are madatory prior to Covid-19 screening.

More than 200 Da Nang returnees are tested on the morning of July 31, 2020. The city will continue reviewing all people returning from the central city, which is now Vietnams largest Covid-19 hotspot, and conduct Covid-19 tests among them.

Over 200 Da Nang returnees are tested on the morning of July 31, 2020. Hanoi will continue monitoring those returning from the central city.

According to Hong, all Da Nang returnees in Thanh Cong Ward will be tested on July 31, 2020. Those residing in other local wards will be tested on August 1, 2020. Hanoi authorities has decided to conduct mass testing starting July 30, which would be finished on August 1 of all Da Nang returnees, after the city confirmed two cases of Covid-19 infection, a 23-year-old man and a 76-year-old man, both returning from Da Nang.

Hanoi authorities decided to conduct mass testing from July 30 to August 1, after two Covid-19 cases were found in the city, a 23-year-old and 76-year-old, both men returning from Da Nang.

All blood samples are marked with names of residents. Blood drops are put on a rapid test kit.

All blood samples are marked with the names of residents, with blood droplets added to rapid test kits for analysis.

In case the result is positive, the person will his/her throat swab taken for the RT-PCR test at Hanoi CDC, a technique that combines reverse transcription of RNA into DNA and amplification of specific DNA targets using a polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Among more than 21,000 rapid tests in Hanoi, two were tested positive, but the later RT-PCR tests confirmed negative results.

Persons testing positive will have their throat swabs taken for real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing at Hanoi CDC. Among over 21,000 rapid tests conducted in Hanoi, two returned positive, though later RT-PCR results confirmed all negative.

A medic put some drop of solution onto the rapid test kit with blood sample. The kit, produced in South Korea, gives the result within 10 minutes.

Rapid test kits, produced in South Korea, provide results within 10 minutes.

It takes each resident 25 minutes to fill in the health declaration form, take blood sample and wait for their test result.

It takes each person 25 minutes to fill out a health declaration form, provide a blood sample and receive their test results.

Many people could not hide their happiness afte receiving negative result. I went to Da Nang with my family two weeks ago. When the news about Covid-19 infection in Da Nang came out, I was worred and reported to local medical authority, said Nguyen Thuc Binh (R), who was self-quarantining and rushes to have the Covid-19 test after Hanoi decided to conduct mass testing for all Da Nang returnees.As of Friday morning 93 people have been diagnosed with the disease since it resurfaced in the community on July 25, 2020, 79 of them in Da Nang.

"I went to Da Nang with my family two weeks ago. When the news about local Covid-19 infection broke, I reported to local medical authorities," said Nguyen Thuc Binh (R), who rushed to get tested after Hanoi decided to screen all Da Nang returnees.
A 70-year-old Covid-19 patient with multiple comorbidities died on Friday, the first death of anyone who contracted the disease in Vietnam. The country now has 546 Covid-19 patients. Of these, 373 have recovered.

Photos by Tung Dinh