On this occasion, the Indonesian Ambassador, Ibnu Hadi, stated that the donation was a result of coordination and cooperation between the Indonesian Embassy in Hanoi, the Vietnamese Embassy in Jakarta, as well as the Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) Vietnam.
Photo: Indonesian Embassy in Hanoi
All test kits were shipped by air cargo on April 3rd and arrived in Jakarta on April 5th at 19.20 Western Indonesia Time. Representatives of the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) and the Soekarno-Hatta Port Health Authority assisted in receiving the test kits at the Soekarno-Hatta Airport Cargo Terminal. Representatives of the Health Research and Development Agency then immediately brought the test kits to Prof. dr. Sri Oemijati Infectious Disease Research Laboratory in Central Jakarta.
These donations are intended to assist the Government of Indonesia in its effort to control pandemics and expand detection of COVID-19 in Indonesia given the increasingly complex development of the SARS-CoV-2 infection, including in Southeast Asia.
The test kit named The Light Power IVASARS-CoV-2 1stRT-rPCR kit (VA.A02-055H) was produced by Viet A Corporation, a Vietnamese company specializing in the field of molecular biology, works through several stages, as follow:
a. Retrieval of specimens from suspected patient’s throat or respiratory tract;
b. Separation of SARS-CoV-2 RNA from reagents;
c. cDNA processing through a Thermal Cycler/DNA Amplifier (PCR) device, then compare the result with the positive reference sample of SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses similar to SARS.
d. The results of the comparison will determine whether the patients is positive for COVID-19/SARS-CoV-2.
The VA.A02-055H test kit donated by the Vietnamese Government has some advantages including ready to use COVID test kit without extra preparation that could increase accuracy; the total real-time RT-PCR process time is about 60 minutes, and 1 sample 1 test only hence improving efficiency in the test protocol. The test kit can also be used with compatible PCR devices and RNA separator reagents so that there is no need to buy a new PCR from the producer/distributor.
Based on data from the Ministry of Health of Vietnam (ncov.moh.gov.vn), as of April 6th 2020, Vietnam recorded a total of 245 positive cases of COVID-19, of which 95 have been declared cured and discharged from the hospital. No COVID-19 patient has died in Vietnam./.