Hanoi begins second phase of mass COVID-19 testing
Hanoi is collecting 1 million samples for COVID-19 screening tests from residents in the areas and 13 groups of people at high risk from August 18 to 20, the city's Centre for Disease Control (CDC) said.
People wait for their turn to have COVID-19 testing in Le Dai Hanh ward of Hanoi's Hai Ba Trung district on August 14 (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) – Hanoi is collecting 1 million samples for COVID-19screening tests from residents in the areas and 13 groups of people at highrisk from August 18 to 20, the city's Centre for Disease Control (CDC) said.
The high-risk groups includeshippers, sellers at wet markets, employees of supermarkets and trade centres, sellersat home-based grocery stores, petrol sellers, long-haul truck drivers, securityguards, construction workers, sellers at pharmacies, workers at retailwarehouses, persons performing duties at pandemic checkpoints, those supporting anti-pandemicactivities, and environmental workers.
The second phase of massRT-PCR testing aims to identify and isolate infection cases from “red zones”,high-risk areas, and new pandemic hotbeds.
The CDC called on people inthe high-risk groups to contact local health authorities to have samples taken for testing, whichis free of charge.
The first phase, conducted citywide from August 10 to15, collected more than 313,010 samples, discovering 29 infection cases in fivedistricts, including 23 in Dong Da, three in Thanh Tri, and one in Hoang Mai,Ha Dong and Thanh Oai each.
As of August 17 afternoon, the capital city of Hanoi recorded 2,308 locally-transmitted cases of COVID-19 in the fourth wave of infections, which began inlate April./.
The People's Committee of Hanoi has issued an urgent request to strictly control the issuance and use of travel permits during the social distancing period implemented in the capital city.
The capital city of Hanoi is racing against time to conduct mass COVID-19 testing for high-risk people in an effort to soon stamp out the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak and return to the “new normal.”
President Nguyen Xuan Phuc on August 13 visited and presented gifts to frontline forces performing COVID-19 prevention and prevention activities and locals in some areas in the capital city.
A delegation of the Ministry of Health led by Minister Nguyen Thanh Long arrived in Ho Chi Minh City on August 15 afternoon to work with the city's authorities in COVID-19 prevention and control.
The Hanoi People's Committee has issued a plan to provide medical oxygen for a scenario in which the number of COVID-19 patients in the city reaches 40,000.
Vietnam now boasts a nationwide healthcare network with 1,665 hospitals, 384 of which are non-public, supported by local commune- and ward-level stations. At the end of 2024, hospital bed capacity reached 34 per 10,000 people, slightly above the global average.
The 56-year-old patient from Quang Tri province was discharged in stable condition as he no longer experienced shortness of breath and was able to walk, move around, and eat normally.
Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Vu Trung, Director of the Pasteur Institute, said that under the MoU, the two sides committed to promoting diverse and practical collaborative activities, including joint conferences and workshops, exchanges of scholars, researchers and students, sharing academic materials, and the development of specific programmes and projects in scientific research, training, and epidemic prevention.
TytoCare, a leading Israeli telemedicine company based in Netanya, is willing to work with Vietnamese regulators, insurers, and healthcare providers to develop a sustainable digital health ecosystem.
The partnership is under the framework of a Memorandum of Understanding on the development and implementation of the National Action Plan on Breast Cancer and Cervical Cancer Prevention and Control, signed in Hanoi on July 22.
An estimated 7 million Vietnamese are currently living with diabetes, but about 50% remain undiagnosed, a dangerous gap that is fuelling serious, preventable complications and increasing the burden on the healthcare system.
In 2024, Vietnam achieved 99% coverage for the first dose of the diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis vaccine, up from 80% in 2023. Immunisation coverage in the country has not only rebounded to the high levels seen before the COVID-19 pandemic but has now surpassed the rates recorded in 2019.
Health authorities in HCM City have issued an urgent alert after six people died from dengue fever, amid a spike in infections driven by the onset of the rainy season.
During the peak months of July and August 2025, the National Institute of Haematology and Blood Transfusion (NIHBT) needs at least 90,000 units of blood to supply 180 hospitals in the northern region. However, despite continuous efforts, the reserve blood is still short of 30,000 units.
The Hanoi ceremony highlighted efforts to ensure all citizens, especially women and youth, can access accurate information and healthcare services to make informed reproductive choices.
After such a long time, the law has revealed many limitations, prompting the Ministry of Health (MoH) to gather opinions to amend the law to give more chances to thousands of patients every year.
Currently, cardiovascular specialists from the 108 Military Central Hospital are working alongside a team of Prof.Dr. Jan D. Schmitto, Deputy Director of MHH’s Department of Cardiac, Thoracic, Transplantation and Vascular Surgery on clinical trials for MCS devices, implanted in heart failure patients either as a bridge to transplantation or as permanent treatment.
The centre not only serves residents living on the island, but also receives tens of thousands of visitors every year, according to Assoc Prof Dr Tang Chi Thuong, Director of the HCM CIty Department of Health.
Not only does Vietnam attract international tourists with its landscapes, culture, and cuisine, but it is also gradually becoming a reliable destination for medical treatment, offering high-quality services at reasonable costs.
Over the past six months, 150 communal health stations in provinces including Ha Giang, Bac Kan, Lang Son, Lao Cai, Lai Chau, Yen Bai, Tay Ninh, Hau Giang, Ben Tre and Ca Mau have been equipped with information technology systems. In addition, 117 key provincial healthcare workers have received training, with thousands more expected to follow.
During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the Ministry of Health swiftly launched a telemedicine programme, connecting more than 1,000 medical establishments nationwide. The model, which remains in operation, has benefited tens of thousands of patients, including foreign nationals.
After more than three weeks of intensive treatment, the patient's pneumonia improved, breathing stabilised, sedation was reduced, and the breathing tube was removed. He is now conscious, able to eat orally, and in recovery.
People wait for their turn to have COVID-19 testing in Le Dai Hanh ward of Hanoi's Hai Ba Trung district on August 14 (Photo: VNA) 
