Starting today, people can order their two-weekly quota of nine masks at the nation’s four major convenience store chains, giving consumers another option for purchasing masks, the Central Epidemic Command Center said yesterday.
Masks are to be available for order during specific time frames announced by the government, with the first one starting at 8am today and ending at 8pm on Friday.
Consumers can place their orders using self-service kiosks at more than 10,000 FamilyMart, 7-Eleven, OK Mart and Hi-Life convenience stores.
Photo courtesy of Central Epidemic Command Center via CNA
They have to present their National Health Insurance (NHI) cards and pay for the masks with the order.
The orders can be picked up between Thursday next week and May 13 at the designated convenience store.
People can also have the masks delivered to Pxmart or Simple Mart stores for pickup, but the two supermarket chains cannot take orders because they do not have NHI card readers, an Executive Yuan official said on condition of anonymity.
The official did not offer details on the frequency or timing of future purchases at convenience stores.
Consumers still have the option of preordering masks online and collecting them at convenience stores, the official said.
Since a mask rationing program started on Jan. 31, the quota for each person has been increased from two to three per week and then to nine every two weeks, while the sales platforms have been expanded from pharmacies to include a government Web site and a mobile app.
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