Taiwan to launch name-based rationing system for COVID rapid test kits in early May

台灣 5 月初將推出實名制 COVID 快速檢測試劑盒配給系統

Chen has advised the public to depend more on self-vigilance to contain the rapid spread of the virus


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan’s Central Epidemic Command Center head Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) announced on Sunday (April 24) that a name-based rationing system for people to purchase COVID-19 rapid antigen test kits will be launched in early May to ensure universal access to 50 million such kits.

With five kits in one pack, it’s estimated that the 50 million test kits will be enough for 10 million people to purchase, he added.

With the surge in COVID-19 cases in the country continuing, the country’s National Health Research Institute recently estimated that case numbers could reach 45,000 in a single day during the peak, CNA reported.

Chen has warned that it’s not impossible for the numbers of daily new COVID-19 cases in Taiwan to break the 10,000 mark, advising the public to depend more on self-vigilance to contain the rapid spread of the virus and urging people with suspicious symptoms to take rapid tests, CNA reported.

In response to the shortage of COVID-19 rapid test kits in the country, Chen said domestic manufacturers will continuously distribute a total of 1.24 million rapid test kits to the supply chain in the next few days to assuage the shortage problem, per CNA.