The Federation of Taiwan Pharmacists Associations warned Friday that fewer COVID-19 rapid test kits will be available over the weekend and was critical of the government for lowering deliveries when demand is expected to be at its highest.

Federation spokesman Huang Yen-ju (???) said that on the first two days of the government’s rapid test kit rationing program that begin Thursday, test kits were delivered to national health insurance (NHI)-contracted pharmacies and public health centers a day ahead of time.

According to the Central Epidemic Command Center’s (CECC) latest plan, however, only 2,202 of 4,967 designated locations around Taiwan received test kits Friday, meaning that only around half of NHI-contracted retailers were restocked for Saturday, Huang said.

With no new deliveries expected Saturday, there will likely be few test kits available on Sunday, he said.

Taiwan is facing a severe shortage of COVID-19 rapid tests as case numbers explode and there are not enough of the more accurate but also more time-consuming PCR tests to meet the demand for testing.

Source : Focus Taiwan News Channel