Large-scale testing is considered a key step for the early detection, rapid isolation, timely classification and appropriate and effective treatment of people infected with COVID-19.
Tan Phu is a district of Ho Chi Minh City with a large population. Of the district’s 11 wards, the ward with the lowest population contains 32,000 people; the ward with the largest population has up to 69,000 people. Currently, all 11 wards of Tan Phu District have deployed rapid COVID-19 antigen tests at home. Community-based COVID-19 prevention teams have been trained in providing guidance to the people. For high-risk areas (orange and red zones), the district sent medical staff to the people's homes to take samples for testing.
In the past three days of implementing the radical social distancing rules, people have cooperated, obeyed, and felt more secure as they were instructed to implement rapid COVID-19 antigen tests at home. According to Doctor Nguyen Mau Nam from Medical Centre of Tan Phu District, with the timely direction and support from the Ministry of Health and the Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control of Ho Chi Minh City, Tan Phu District has completed the distribution of COVID-19 quick test kits as well as instructed people in the area to self-take samples for rapid testing of SARS-CoV-2 antigens.
Binh Duong Province currently has a total of seven RT-PCR laboratories with a capacity of 18,500 to 25,000 samples per day. Director of Binh Duong Provincial Department of Health Nguyen Hong Chuong said that, conducting the second large-scale testing phase from August 2 to the afternoon of August 25, localities in the province took samples for rapid tests and RT-PCR tests for over 1.2 million people and found 34,988 positive cases. The provincial Centre for Disease Control and Prevention took RT-PCR samples for 114,173 workers at 130 companies in industrial zones, the results identified 323 positive cases.
With 102,000 people, implementing COVID-19 testing in Thuan Giao Ward, Thuan An City, Binh Duong Province, took place in an urgent and serious manner. From August 22 to now, Thuan Giao Ward has organised 160 working groups to go to the area to take samples for rapid tests and RT-PCR tests for people in blockaded areas in order to promptly detect and isolate F0 cases.
In Tan Uyen Town (Binh Duong Province), Huynh Minh Chin, Director of the Medical Centre of Tan Uyen Town, said that as of noon on August 24, sampling work in the seven wards under lockdown measures in the town has been basically completed.
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Medical forces take samples for testing in the "red zones" of 15 wards in the towns of Thuan An, Di An and Tan Uyen (Binh Duong Province). (Photo: VNA)
In Dong Nai Province, a large-scale community testing campaign for about 2.1 million people was launched from August 18 to August 31. As of the morning of August 26, the Dong Nai health sector took samples from more than 1.2 million people, of which 2,498 cases were positive for SARS-CoV-2, accounting for 0.87%. Currently, Long Khanh City, Nhon Trach District and Cam My District have completed the second phase of sampling, while the remaining eight districts and cities of the province are implementing testing.
By August 26, the health force of Long An Province had taken samples for testing from more than 1.2 million people. The five "red zone" localities of districts Duc Hoa, Ben Luc, Can Giuoc, Can Duoc and Tan An are focusing on speeding up testing and screening of the entire population by end of August. Each citizen is to be tested at least twice to take all F0s out of the community, quickly trace F1s and send them to concentrated isolation for epidemic prevention and control.
Chairman of the People's Committee of Ben Luc District (Long An) Tran Van Tuoi said that because it is a "red zone" the district is applying a strategy of multi-round screening testing to take all F0s out of the community, quickly trace F1s and send them to concentrated isolation for epidemic prevention and control, and at the same time carry out vaccination against COVID-19 for people with negative results.
Although there have been many efforts, the reality also shows that the focus on large-scale testing in localities is still facing some difficulties, especially in terms of human resources.
Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Truong Son said that for "red zones", it is necessary to take a quick test sample every 48 hours and test regularly over a3 week-period, while "orange zones" should perform quick-test sampling twice a week.
The "yellow zones" and "green zones" should perform RT-PCR pooling or household pooling. For the cases of hospital transfer, before the hospital transfer, it is necessary to take a PCR sample to confirm.
Standing Deputy Secretary of the Dong Nai Provincial Party Committee Ho Thanh Son said that the large-scale testing aims to soon isolate F0 cases from the community. Communes and wards must not follow achievements in taking samples for large-scale testing and should not be hasty in directing to put more pressure on the grassroots anti-epidemic forces.
