The Central Epidemic Command Center announced that only people with positive COVID rapid test results can go to the hospitals for PCR testing. The center is also calling for more community testing stations to be set up in order to free up emergency wards.
A sign at the Far Eastern Memorial Hospital entrance tells people where to go for PCR testing - if they’ve tested positive using a rapid test. An area is cordoned off outside the hospital for PCR testing only.
Head of the hospital’s emergency ward, Tsai Kuang-chao蔡光超, said that people who are asymptomatic should not go to the emergency ward. That’s because they might contract other diseases from other patients there. They could also keep other people who have symptoms from getting timely treatment.
Crowds have been rushing to emergency wards to get tested for COVID. Now health officials have introduced five new measures to prevent this from continuing. First, people cannot get PCR tests unless they test positive with a rapid test. Second, local governments should increase community testing stations. Third, hospitals with emergency wards need to have separate areas for treating COVID-related cases. Fourth, clinics are encouraged to provide PCR testing. And last, hospitals need to have personnel ready to meet the changing demands of the pandemic.
However, doctors at small clinics are finding it hard to help with PCR testing. They say they don’t have enough space for all the necessary equipment and there is not enough protective gear for their staff. With local COVID cases surging, some doctors suggest doing away with PCR tests and just using rapid tests to save on medical resources.