An employee of Thai Nguyen National General Hospital tests the SARS-CoV-2 test kits. (Photo: VNA)
The information was announced on March 3rd.
The research team was led by Assoc. Prof Dong Van Quyen and Assoc. Prof Dinh Duy Khang.
According to Mr. Quyen, on the back of knowledge about molecular biology and virology, the IBT partnered with many health institutions inside and outside the country to fully tap information about the order of genome of the virus and diagnosis technique, thus laying a foundation for the kit development.
Test results showed that the kit has sensitivity and specificity similar to those of the realtime RT-PCR developed by the WHO.
Mr. Chu Hoang Ha, IBT Director, said the institute will work closely with other establishments to mass produce the kit in the near future./.
Vietnamese citizens in Iran and Italy offered recommendations on Covid-19 prevention
The Consular Department under the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) recently issued a statement advising Vietnamese citizens in Italy and Iran on protective measures against the new coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreaks.
People and tourists wear facemasks to prevent Covid-19 in Venice, Italy. (Photo: VNA)
The Consular Department suggested that Vietnamese citizens not go to epidemic-affected areas or those capable of being affected by the epidemic as recommended by local functional agencies, unless absolutely necessary.
For Vietnamese citizens present in the two Covid-19 hit countries, it is necessary to strictly follow recommendations and instructions, and to absolutely comply with the epidemic prevention rule of local authorities regarding issues on travel, avoiding contact and going to crowded places, medical hygiene, examination, isolation and self-isolation.
Overseas Vietnamese are recommended to keep calm, avoid panic and follow official anti-epidemic guidance, while not propagating or spreading unverified information on social networks. They are also urged to restrict travel, stay indoors and not go to public places if it is not really necessary.
For those returning to Vietnam from epidemic areas, they will be put into medical quarantine for 14 days after being granted medical examinations as required by the local authorities.
Overseas Vietnamese are suggested to promptly inform local authorities, Vietnamese representative agencies in the host countries and their relatives in case of emergency.
In case of a need for assistance, Vietnamese citizens should contact the citizen protection hotline at +98.930.645.9865 (the Vietnamese Embassy in Iran) or +39.328.831.3251 (the Vietnamese Embassy in Italy), as well as the telephone number of the Consular Department at +84.981.84.84.84.
US remains Vietnam’s largest export market in first two months
The US was the largest export market of Vietnam in the first two months of 2020 with export revenue of USD9.8 billion, an increase of 19.6% over the same period last year.
Photo for illustration (Source: baodautu.vn)
The information was released by the General Statistics Office (GSO).
The EU stands the second position with export revenue of USD5 billion, down 7.7%. China came in third with export revenue of USD4.8 billion, up 3.7% over the same period last year.
ASEAN, Japan and the Republic of Korea were also among the leading export markets of Vietnam during the two-month period.
According to the GSO, despite negative impacts from the Covid-19 epidemic, Vietnam has remained on an upward trend in import and export revenue, thanks in part to Samsung’s export of their new phone, the Galaxy S20, in February.
Vietnam’s total import and export revenue was estimated to have reached USD74 billion in the first two months of this year, up 2.4% against the same period last year. Of the total, export revenue was reported at USD36.9 billion, an increase of 2.4%, and import revenue was posted at USD37.1 billion, up 2.4% over the corresponding period last year.
Several export items posted high export revenue including phones and components at USD6.9 billion (up 2.3%), electronics, computers and components at USD5.4 billion (up 26.7%), and garments and textiles at USD4.5 billion (down 1.7%).
In the first two months, some products reached high import revenue such as electronics, computers and components at USD8.6 billion (up 17.1%), machinery, equipment and components at USD5.3 billion (down 3.7%) and phones and components at USD2.1 billion (up 17.2%)./.