More than 2,200 stall holders in the Con traditional market in Vinh Trung Ward, Thanh Khe District, Da Nang, and 100 residents in surrounding areas on Thursday afternoon had their combined nose swab samples collected for COVID-19 testing.

A stall holder in the Con traditional market has his nose swab samples collected for COVID-19 testing on May 13.

This came after this market had been visited by three coronavirus-catching people while being infectious. 

Medical forces performed a 'pooled test' with samples of ten people in order to save time and resources. Instead of testing one person at a time, samples from ten individuals are mixed together, and tested as one. If the test comes back negative, everyone in the pool is clear. If positive, each member of the pool is then tested individually-thus cutting down on the total number of tests.

All the tested people were required to strictly comply with the compulsory measures against COVID-19, including making health declarations, wearing facemasks, disinfecting their hands, keeping a safe distance from others, and joining the queue whilst waiting for their turns to have their swabs taken.

In addition, they were asked to stay at home and limit their contact with others pending their test results which are expected to be released within today.

The spraying of chemical disinfectants has been conducted in this market and its surroundings in order to curb the spread of the virus.

Reporting by XUAN DUNG – Translating by A.T