Hanoi (VNA) – The National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology and the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases will receive the best conditions to develop and produce test kits for the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in coordination with research groups and relevant agencies.

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam, head of the national steering committee for nCoV-caused disease prevention and control, made the remark at a meeting in Hanoi on February 10.

At the event, Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long said there are 22 units nationwide capable of testing for 2019-nCoV at present, and eight other laboratories can be mobilised for the work.

He affirmed that the country doesn’t lack materials for testing if the facilities operate at their full capacity.

The Ministry of Health supports and encourages all scientific and technological units to engage in developing and producing materials and equipment for viral tests, Long added.

Regarding the repatriation of Vietnamese in Wuhan city of China’s Hubei province – the epicenter of the epidemic, Deputy Foreign Minister To Anh Dung said under the Prime Minister’s direction and on the basis of the citizens’ wish, on February 10, the Foreign Ministry worked with the Vietnamese Embassy in Beijing and relevant agencies and localities to carry 30 Vietnamese people, including students, their relatives and tourists, back to the country from Wuhan.

After the plane landed at Van Don International Airport in Quang Ninh province, the 30 citizens got sterilisation and health examination. All of them are currently in stable health condition and have been put in quarantine, he said.

On February 9, this aircraft transported medical equipment and supplies that the Vietnamese Government, people and Red Cross Society presented to China, and also brought 11 Chinese nationals back to Wuhan.

The Health Ministry reported that as of 9:30am of February 10, there had been 40,554 confirmed nCoV cases in 28 countries and territories, including 40,171 cases in China. The number of related fatalities had reached 910, including 908 in mainland China, one in the Philippines, and one in Hong Kong (China).

Vietnam had recorded 14 cases, including three successfully cured and 11 currently under treatment at medical establishments. Aside from the 14 cases tested positive for the virus, 745 samples had been tested negative. Eighty-two people are in quarantine while 517 others having close contact with the confirmed cases are under health monitoring at present./.