Donation of 500 tests of COVID-19 from Vietnam to Indonesia

• Vietnam-Indonesia ties develop on solid foundation: Ambassador

On 4th April,the Indonesian Embassy in Hanoi facilitated the process of sending 500 tests RT-PCR real-time COVID-19 donations from the Government of the Republic Socialist Vietnam to the Government of the Republic of Indonesia at Noi Bai Cargo Terminal. 

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.

All test kits were shipped by air cargo on April 3 and arrived in Jakarta on April 5 at 19h20 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:retrieval of specimens from suspected patient’s throat or respiratory tract;separation of SARS-CoV-2 RNA from reagents; DNA 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; 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.