Taiwan plans to import 40 million rapid test kits by the end of April. Premier Su Tseng-chang said on Thursday that ordering test kits in bulk is essential for dealing with the recent spike in COVID-19 cases.
Su says that the rise in local cases was inevitable due to Taiwan's new approach to handling the virus. During the outbreak last summer, Taiwan went into a soft lockdown. But this time, most public venues have remained open and authorities have put fewer restrictions in place.
Cabinet spokesperson Lo Ping-cheng says that besides importing the test kits from other countries, Taiwan is also preparing to mass produce the kits itself. With a greater supply of test kits, Lo says that the government will be able to control the prices and make the kits more affordable.
Health officials say that once the supply has stabilized, Taiwan is considering using a health insurance card registration system to allow people to buy these rapid test kits. This is similar to Taiwan's system for buying face masks at the beginning of the pandemic.
Officials say that the price of test kits should drop to below NT$200 (US$6.90) in the near future.