A total of 84 healthcare facilities have been designated to provide COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests that people planning on traveling abroad can pay for themselves, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday, as it reported six more imported cases.
The list of sites, as well as the examination times and fees, have been published on the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) Web site.
The PCR tests cost between NT$5,000 and NT$7,000, and 37 of the facilities can provide rapid testing services, providing same-day results, the CECC said.
Photo: CNA
Fifty-seven of the facilities would provide the testing services during the Lunar New Year holiday, said Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who also heads the CECC.
People planning to travel abroad are advised to check what documentation and formatting of the test reports are required by their destination before getting a test, he said.
Chen said the latest imported cases were three Indonesian migrant workers, a Frenchman, a Cypriot and a Taiwanese who is a permanent resident of the US.
Two Indonesian women, cases No. 681 and No. 682, arrived in Taiwan for work on Nov. 17, with one in her 40s and the other in her 20s, he said.
They tested negative during a special project on Friday last week that gave PCR tests to 939 Indonesian migrant workers housed in centralized quarantine facilities, but when tested again before their quarantine period ended on Monday their tests came back positive.
Case No. 683 is an Indonesian man in his 20s who arrived on Nov. 14 and whose company paid for him to be tested on Sunday as his stay at a quarantine hotel was ending, Chen said.
While the man had no COVID-19 symptoms, his test came back positive yesterday, he added.
Case No. 684 is a Taiwanese in his 30s who returned on Sunday last week and began suffering a mild abnormal sense of smell later that day while he was at a quarantine hotel, Chen said.
The man’s symptoms worsened two days later, so he reported his condition and was tested on Thursday last week, and the result came back positive yesterday, he said.
Fifteen passengers who sat near Case No. 684 on the flight to Taiwan have been put under home isolation, Chen said.
Case No. 685, the Cypriot, arrived on Sunday from the US for a business trip, but had a temperature of 38.6°C upon arrival at the airport, so he was asked to take a test and stay at a centralized quarantine center while he waited for the result, which returned positive yesterday, Chen said.
Case No. 686 is a Frenchman in his 50s, who had been invited by a local company to attend a business event. He arrived on Nov. 20 after transiting through Turkey on Nov. 19, Chen said.
The man developed a sore throat on Friday last week at a quarantine hotel and was tested on Monday, and the result came back positive yesterday, he said.
Four of the six had provided negative test results issued three days prior to boarding their flights, case No. 683 had provided a negative antibody test result, while Case No. 684 had not provided a result, he said.
“We can see from these cases that there have been inconsistent test results ... so we are not considering loosening the mandatory home quarantine regulation,” Chen said.
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
‘OF COURSE A COUNTRY’: The president outlined that Taiwan has all the necessary features of a nation, including citizens, land, government and sovereignty President William Lai (賴清德) discussed the meaning of “nation” during a speech in New Taipei City last night, emphasizing that Taiwan is a country as he condemned China’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758. The speech was the first in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. It is the responsibility of Taiwanese citizens to stand united to defend their national sovereignty, democracy, liberty, way of life and the future of the next generation, Lai said. This is the most important legacy the people of this era could pass on to future generations, he said. Lai went on to discuss
AMENDMENT: Climate change is expected to increase the frequency of high-temperature days, affecting economic productivity and public health, experts said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) is considering amending the Meteorological Act (氣象法) to classify “high temperatures” as “hazardous weather,” providing a legal basis for work or school closures due to extreme heat. CWA Administrator Lu Kuo-chen (呂國臣) yesterday said the agency plans to submit the proposed amendments to the Executive Yuan for review in the fourth quarter this year. The CWA has been monitoring high-temperature trends for an extended period, and the agency contributes scientific data to the recently established High Temperature Response Alliance led by the Ministry of Environment, Lu said. The data include temperature, humidity, radiation intensity and ambient wind,
SECOND SPEECH: All political parties should work together to defend democracy, protect Taiwan and resist the CCP, despite their differences, the president said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday discussed how pro-Taiwan and pro-Republic of China (ROC) groups can agree to maintain solidarity on the issue of protecting Taiwan and resisting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The talk, delivered last night at Taoyuan’s Hakka Youth Association, was the second in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. Citing Taiwanese democracy pioneer Chiang Wei-shui’s (蔣渭水) slogan that solidarity brings strength, Lai said it was a call for political parties to find consensus amid disagreements on behalf of bettering the nation. All political parties should work together to defend democracy, protect Taiwan and resist
RSS