Hanoi rolls out mass COVID-19 testing for 300,000 residents

The capital of Hanoi is carrying out a large-scale testing campaign for approximately 300,000 local residents in high-risk areas in order to quickly separate F0 from the community.

Taking samples for COVID-19 testing in Vietnam

The campaign was initially launched on August 10 and is scheduled to last until August 17.

As scheduled, a total of 186,000 samples will be taken in high-risk areas, while a further 114,000 samples will be taken from individuals who are at high risk of virus infection.

According to the Hanoi Department of Health, it has mobilised roughly 1,000 students from the Hanoi Medical University, of whom 300 used to partake in disease prevention in Bac Ninh and Bac Giang provinces, the nation’s previous pandemic hotspots, to collect samples.

Hanoi has documented between 70 and 120 cases daily during the past few days, with many detected in the community through random testing or test screening.

The city has recently decided to extended its social distancing measures for another two weeks until August 23 in an attempt to halt the spread of the virus in the community.

Data from the Hanoi Department of Health shows the capital has recorded 1,909 infections since the fourth wave of COVID-19 erupted on April 27.