Businessman Phan Quoc Viet said his usual prayers in Tay Ninh, a province in southern Vietnam, when he received a call from a government official.
It was late January, just after the Lunar New Year holiday. Vietnam had detected its first two cases of the new coronavirus days earlier, and the government was contacting companies with experience in medical examinations for urgent help.
“The official said Vietnam needed to act quickly,” said Viet, whose medical equipment company, Viet A Corp, makes test kits and has been instrumental in Vietnam stepping up its testing program in response to the outbreak.
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