Although the COVID-19 pandemic is at a “controllable” level in Taiwan, the government is considering compulsory tests for all travelers returning from certain high-risk areas, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Hsueh Jui-yuan (薛瑞元) told lawmakers yesterday.
At a hearing at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Su Chiao-hui (蘇巧慧) asked Hsueh why the government has not taken advantage of a lull in new cases to begin large-scale testing for the novel coronavirus.
Universal testing, which is like “fishing with a net,” is usually only necessary when a virus is spreading uncontrollably through communities, Hsueh said.
It also causes people to let their guard down, which, in cases where tests return “false negative” results, can create the risk of community transmission, Hsueh said.
However, the government is discussing mandatory COVID-19 testing for travelers returning from certain high-risk nations, Hsueh said, without giving further details about which countries it would apply or when it might begin.
Based on Ministry of Health and Welfare statistics, Taiwan likely does not have the capacity to carry out a large-scale testing program at this time.
The nation has 34 facilities that can process COVID-19 tests — 16 in the north, 10 in the south, seven in central Taiwan and one in the east — with a capacity of 3,800 tests per day, the data showed.
However, testing all arriving travelers might be easier than universal testing, given the huge reduction in air traffic in the past few weeks.
Data from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport showed that only 820 civilian travelers were expected to arrive yesterday.
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