Free government-funded COVID-19 rapid test kits are to be offered to outbound and inbound international travelers at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport starting today, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday.
CDC Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said the policy is being implemented in response to an increasing number of COVID-19 cases, locally and internationally, and the expected increase in international travelers ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday.
He said COVID-19 rapid test kits would be offered at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport for both outbound and inbound travelers, and each traveler can pick up a pack — consisting of four or five rapid test kits — at one of the four designated stations at the airport.
Photo: CNA
The four stations are at the departure hall and arrival hall of the airport’s Terminal One and Terminal Two, Lo said, adding that the test kits can be picked up between 7am and 10:30pm every day until the end of the Lunar New Year holiday.
Travelers are not obliged to take the rapid test kits, nor are they required to take the test, but the test kits are provided to conveniently test for COVID-19 if they experience cold or flu-like symptoms during their trip or after they have returned, he said.
The policy is not being implemented at other airports in the nation, as about 90 percent of international travelers arrive or leave from the airport in Taoyuan, Lo said, adding that the policy could be extended depending on supply and demand, as well as the COVID-19 situation.
Meanwhile, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said 360 hospitalized local COVID-19 cases were reported last week, slightly more than the 325 cases the previous week, and 38 deaths were also reported.
He said 98 percent of the hospitalized cases last week did not get the new XBB 1.5 vaccine and genome sequencing data from the past four weeks show that the EG.5 subvariant is still the dominant strain spreading locally, accounting for about 69 percent of cases.
The global positivity rate of COVID-19 is increasing, reaching 14.9 percent in the week between Dec. 24 and Saturday, Guo said.
There were 109,394 hospital visits for flu-like symptoms last week, 20 severe flu complications and four deaths, he said.
Lo said there are still about 260,000 doses of government-funded flu vaccines available, so the CDC encourages eligible recipients to get vaccinated as soon as possible.
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