Amid doubts caused by the relatively low number of COVID-19 tests conducted in Taiwan, Vice President Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) has defended the nation’s practices, saying that large volumes of tests are only needed when sources of infection cannot be traced.
As of Wednesday last week, Taiwan had conducted 20,014 tests for the novel coronavirus, compared with 307,024 by South Korea, raising questions over whether Taiwan’s testing has been aggressive enough.
Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the Central Epidemic Command Center, on Saturday last week rejected a call to conduct more COVID-19 testing, as many people have requested to be tested at their own expense.
Photo: CNA
He said that such a practice could increase the number of false negative results.
More testing “might not only not help efforts to stem the outbreak, it could even create a quarantine loophole,” Chen Shih-chung said, adding that those with false negative results could move about without taking precautions, thinking that they are free of the virus, while infecting others.
Chen Chien-jen, an epidemiologist by training, on Monday said on Facebook that the prevalence of the novel coronavirus in Taiwan is less than one per 100,000 people, and that “only a few cases have unknown sources.”
As such, the government has concentrated its testing on those who have come in contact with infected patients and those categorized as highly vulnerable to COVID-19, he said.
“Such a practice guarantees that the tests are proper and efficient, and in line with cost-benefit principles,” the vice president said.
In addition, he provided data from 13 nations that have conducted at least 15,000 tests on their volume of testing, the number of positive cases found and the prevalence of the disease in their populations.
The figures generally showed that “the lower the rate of positive tests, the broader the coverage of tests of potentially infected people,” Chen Chien-jen.
Of the 13 nations, Taiwan had five positive results for every 1,000 tests conducted, trailing only the United Arab Emirates at 0.8 positive results per 1,000 tests and Russia with 1.2 positive results per 1,000 tests, he said.
Taiwan had 0.45 infections per 100,000 people, the second-lowest ratio after Russia’s 0.14 infections per 100,000, he added.
However, Chen Chien-jen acknowledged that the correlation between positive test rates and infection rates per 100,000 people was not absolute, citing statistics from France, Belgium and South Korea, where there were about 16 infections per 100,000 people, but their positive test rates varied greatly.
While South Korea saw 27.9 positive results per 1,000 tests, Belgium reported 80.9 positive results per 1,000 tests and France 167.4 positives per 1,000 tests.
The figures suggest that South Korea and Belgium conducted more tests on people who were not infected, while France tested more people who were infected, Chen Chien-jen said.
The center said that COVID-19 tests are being conducted on “high-risk” subjects, divided into two groups: those who have come in contact with foreigners who had respiratory symptoms and a fever; and people with pneumonia or who have a fever and respiratory symptoms after returning from countries for which the highest level of travel advisory has been issued.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was sentenced to six months in prison, commutable to a fine, by the New Taipei District Court today for contravening the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法) in a case linked to an alleged draft-dodging scheme. Wang allegedly paid NT$3.6 million (US$114,380) to an illegal group to help him evade mandatory military service through falsified medical documents, prosecutors said. He transferred the funds to Chen Chih-ming (陳志明), the alleged mastermind of a draft-evasion ring, although he lost contact with him as he was already in detention on fraud charges, they said. Chen is accused of helping a
SECURITY: Starlink owner Elon Musk has taken pro-Beijing positions, and allowing pro-China companies to control Taiwan’s critical infrastructure is risky, a legislator said Starlink was reluctant to offer services in Taiwan because of the nation’s extremely high penetration rates in 4G and 5G services, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said yesterday. The ministry made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, which reviewed amendments to Article 36 of the Telecommunications Management Act (電信管理法). Article 36 bans foreigners from holding more than 49 percent of shares in public telecommunications networks, while shares foreigners directly and indirectly hold are also capped at 60 percent of the total, unless specified otherwise by law. The amendments, sponsored by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ko
‘SAME OLD TRICK’: Even if Beijing resumes individual travel to Taiwan, it would only benefit Chinese tourism companies, the Economic Democracy Union convener said China’s 10 new “incentives” are “sugar-coated poison,” an official said yesterday, adding that Taiwanese businesses see them clearly for what they are, but that Beijing would inevitably find some local collaborators to try to drums up support. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, made the remark ahead of a news conference the General Chamber of Commerce is to hold today. The event, titled “Industry Perspectives on China’s Recent Pro-Taiwan Policies,” is expected to include representatives from industry associations — such as those in travel, hotels, food and agriculture — to request the government cooperate with China’s new measures, people familiar with
The eastern extension of the Taipei MRT Red Line could begin operations as early as late June, the Taipei Department of Rapid Transit Systems said yesterday. Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said it is considering offering one month of free rides on the new section to mark its opening. Construction progress on the 1.4km extension, which is to run from the current terminal Xiangshan Station to a new eastern terminal, Guangci/Fengtian Temple Station, was 90.6 percent complete by the end of last month, the department said in a report to the Taipei City Council's Transportation Committee. While construction began in October 2016 with an
RSS