Free COVID-19 rapid tests will be offered to a wider range of recipients from the end of this month, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday.
The tests are to be distributed to local governments and elementary schools before the end of this month, said Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝), who heads the CECC.
Schools should receive the tests before Nov. 21 and local governments before the end of the month, Wang added.
Photo: CNA
They would be offered to more designated recipients, as the nation still has about 130 million tests in stock, many of which are due to expire late next year or in early 2024, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said earlier this week.
The tests would be issued to low and middle-income households and children aged 6 to 12, with each person entitled to five free tests, Wang said.
After schools receive the rapid tests they would distribute them to their young students, while local governments will have to arrange times and places to hand out the tests to eligible recipients, he said.
Statistics compiled by the CECC showed that 1.22 million schoolchildren and more than 600,000 people from low and middle-income households are eligible to receive the free tests.
At present, people aged 65 or older and children younger than 7 are entitled to five free tests per month.
The CECC also reported 20,306 new COVID-19 infections, including 37 imported cases, and 62 deaths from the disease.
The 20,269 new domestic cases represented a 26.4 percent drop from a week earlier, the CECC said.
The deceased ranged in age from their 40s to their 90s. All but two had underlying health issues, while 22 had not received a COVID-19 vaccine, the CECC said.
The center also reported 37 new cases classified as severe and 100 classified as moderate.
To date, Taiwan has recorded 7,996,490 COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began in early 2020, including 36,845 classified as imported.
With the 62 deaths reported yesterday, the number of confirmed COVID-19 fatalities in the nation rose to 13,441.
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