The Central Epidemic Command Center on Monday said that it was mulling implementing rapid polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests at COVID-19 hotspots nationwide to eliminate diagnosis delays.
The purpose would be to improve the efficiency of testing and reduce the waiting time for the results, the center said.
Since a domestic COVID-19 outbreak began last month, the government has been setting up numerous testing sites at hotspots, where people undergo not only a rapid antigen test, but also a PCR test, as the latter remains the standard for confirming COVID-19 cases.
Unlike PCR tests, which look for traces of SARS-CoV-2 genetic material in a patient’s mucus, rapid antigen tests are used to detect the protein of the virus.
Anyone who receives a positive result from a rapid antigen test is sent to either a hospital, government quarantine center or asked to quarantine at home while they wait for a PCR test result.
Those who receive a negative rapid antigen test result are asked to monitor their health while waiting for their PCR test result.
The center on Monday said that it was planning to use rapid PCR tests when people test positive in a rapid antigen test.
Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞), deputy head of the center’s medical response division, said results of a rapid PCR test can be provided in about 20 minutes, significantly quicker that the three-and-a-half hours required by a standard PCR test.
Both methods involve using a nasal swab to collect mucus to determine whether SARS-CoV-2 is present. The only difference is the time it takes to provide a result, he said.
Rapid PCR tests were first used at Taoyuan General Hospital when Taiwan launched a “travel bubble” with Palau in April, he added.
TRAGEDY: An expert said that the incident was uncommon as the chance of a ground crew member being sucked into an IDF engine was ‘minuscule’ A master sergeant yesterday morning died after she was sucked into an engine during a routine inspection of a fighter jet at an air base in Taichung, the Air Force Command Headquarters said. The officer, surnamed Hu (胡), was conducting final landing checks at Ching Chuan Kang (清泉崗) Air Base when she was pulled into the jet’s engine for unknown reasons, the air force said in a news release. She was transported to a hospital for emergency treatment, but could not be revived, it said. The air force expressed its deepest sympathies over the incident, and vowed to work with authorities as they
A tourist who was struck and injured by a train in a scenic area of New Taipei City’s Pingsi District (平溪) on Monday might be fined for trespassing on the tracks, the Railway Police Bureau said yesterday. The New Taipei City Fire Department said it received a call at 4:37pm on Monday about an incident in Shifen (十分), a tourist destination on the Pingsi Railway Line. After arriving on the scene, paramedics treated a woman in her 30s for a 3cm to 5cm laceration on her head, the department said. She was taken to a hospital in Keelung, it said. Surveillance footage from a
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
Another wave of cold air would affect Taiwan starting from Friday and could evolve into a continental cold mass, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Temperatures could drop below 10°C across Taiwan on Monday and Tuesday next week, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. Seasonal northeasterly winds could bring rain, he said. Meanwhile, due to the continental cold mass and radiative cooling, it would be cold in northern and northeastern Taiwan today and tomorrow, according to the CWA. From last night to this morning, temperatures could drop below 10°C in northern Taiwan, it said. A thin coat of snow
RSS