The Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, in collaboration with the Centre of Science and Technology Development for Youth, has successfully created and officially launched a mobile disinfection chamber serving people in COVID-19-affected areas.
The creation of the chamber aims to prevent and limit the spread of infectious diseases, especially in the current situation of COVID-19 pandemic.
As per media reports, it is expected to be installed in areas at high risk of COVID-19 infections such as quarantine areas containing people infected with COVID-19, as well as at hospitals, supermarkets, railway and bus stations, airports, offices, schools, and other crowded areas.
Initially, three mobile disinfection chambers will be set up at the HCM City Youth Cultural House in District 1, HCM City Traditional Medicine Institute in Phu Nhuan district, and the Saigon Union of Trading Co-operatives (Saigon Co.op) in District 1.
The chamber is designed as a module so it can be easily installed, uninstalled and transported. Its main component is a 360-degree fog mist sprayer using an anolyte solution which is a powerful disinfectant against bacteria and viruses.
It automatically activates the disinfection spraying process once a person steps in.
It only takes 30 seconds to complete a round of disinfection in each chamber. It is estimated that each chamber can disinfect up to 1,000 people per day.
Around 100 chambers could be manufactured a week to meet the needs in the city and southern provinces.
The Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) announced a text message campaign to call for public support against COVID-19.
MIC, the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee’s Standing Board, the Health Ministry, and the Vietnam Red Cross Society jointly launched the campaign with the aim of raising funds to support COVID-19 prevention and control efforts.
The campaign started on 19 March and will end on 18 June 2020.
Supporters can join the programme by texting “CV n” to 1407, of which “n” is the number for support. Each text message will contribute at least VND 20,000 (US $0.86) to the fund.
All the money pooled by the programme will be used to buy medical equipment, necessities, and support COVID-19 patients and those undergoing quarantine.
In his speech at the launching ceremony, the President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee, Tran Thanh Man, appreciated relevant agencies for organising the campaign, saying that it will significantly contribute to preventing the epidemic.
The Vietnam Fatherland Front had also launched a fund-raising programme on 17 March, which has so far raised over VND 282 billion (over US $12 million), he said.
The government also launched a mobile application for Vietnamese citizens to declare their health status. Citizens can update their daily health status and they can also provide information to the best of their knowledge about cases suspected of having the COVID-19 in their residential areas.
Data collected through the app will help the nation’s health sector to identify who needs medical assistance in the fastest and most effective manner.