Regulated sales of masks at contracted pharmacies across Taiwan was mostly smooth, the Central Epidemic Command Center said yesterday after a purchasing policy came into effect, despite confusion over what time the program launched.
More than 980,000 out of the 1.6 million masks in the government program were sold yesterday, with most people not having to wait in line for long, said Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center.
To ensure an ample supply, people must show their National Health Insurance (NHI) card or Alien Resident Certificate (ARC) at one of the 6,160 locations that are part of the program.
Photo: CNA
People whose national ID or ARC card number ends with an odd number can buy masks, which cost NT$5, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, while those whose ID number ends with an even number are limited to Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, while Sunday is open to both. Each person is limited to buying two masks every seven days.
NHI Administration Director-General Lee Po-chang (李伯璋) on Wednesday said that foreign residents who do not have an NHI card can purchase masks at pharmacies with their ARC or by presenting the entry-and-exit permit in their passport.
Chen on Wednesday said that there is no recommendation for visiting foreigners to wear masks, but they can bring them into Taiwan if they are concerned about the virus.
As the message spreads that masks should be reserved for those who need them, panic buying and stockpiling is falling, he said.
The process was surprisingly efficient, said a woman in Hualien surnamed Chen (陳).
The government system was working, as she had not been able to buy a mask until yesterday.
However, some people complained that pharmacies in Nantou County had no masks in stock, having sold out by 3pm, which was when the Nantou Public Health Bureau said sales would begin after being advised by the county’s pharmacists’ association.
Pharmacies in Nantou that began sales earlier than 3pm said that there were long lines from the morning, with elderly people saying that they had traveled a long way and there would not be bus services in the afternoon to return home, the bureau said.
Some pharmacies said that they had only one computer each and could not cope with the number of customers.
To prevent such situations, pharmacies and drugstores were ordered to report when mask sales would start, with local governments to publish the information online, the bureau said.
The League for Persons with Disabilities urged the central government not to neglect the rights of disabled people when offering disease prevention information, as the Web site to view mask inventories at pharmacies and drugstores has a graphics-based verification system.
Visually challenged people have no way to verify themselves, as there is no audio or text-based verification system, the league said.
News conferences on disease prevention should include sign language interpreters for people who cannot hear, it said.
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