Obtaining a rapid HIV self-testing kit has become more convenient, with online orders now available for collection at local convenience stores, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said on Friday.
There are two types of rapid testing kits, one that tests saliva and the other blood, and people can purchase them at designated locations or have them sent to the convenience store of their choice, CDC Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) said.
Previously, the blood testing kit could only be bought at 408 designated locations nationwide, leaving the saliva kit as the only one available to be ordered online and collected at a convenience store, he said.
Photo provided by the Centers for Disease Control
The rapid self-testing kit costs NT$200, but there is an additional NT$45 charge for delivery to convenience store chains Family Mart, OK Mart or Hi Life, the centers said.
The rapid HIV testing kit can be purchased online at: otc.cdc.gov.tw.
Those who purchase the kit online would receive a free packet of condoms and lubricant, Chuang said, adding that the offer would be valid for purchases at any of the designated locations until June 30.
People who engage in unprotected sex should take an HIV test at least once every year, and those with multiple sex partners should take the test once every three to six months, the centers said.
Without treatment, an HIV infection develops into AIDS.
A total of 1,992 new cases of HIV were reported among Taiwanese last year, and there were 1,091 AIDS cases the same year, CDC statistics showed.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS