Following the spike in the number of COVID-19 cases in Taiwan, the public demand for rapid screening tests has greatly increasing. Thus the CECC announced that a name-based distribution system for at-home rapid test kits was launched on April 28. Each NHI card or Alien Resident Card (ARC) can be used to buy test kits once a round (one card allowed per person per time, and purchasing on behalf of other people is allowed) at any of the participating 4,909 NHI-contracted pharmacies or 58 district public health centers in rural areas. In the first round, one person can buy one pack (5 test kits/pack); the last digit of the ID number of the individual will determine which days the individual can buy a rapid test kit: Individuals whose ID numbers end with an odd number (1, 3, 5, 7, 9) can buy test kits on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and those whose ID numbers end with an even number (0, 2, 4, 6, 8) can buy test kits on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Both even and odd numbers are allowed to buy test kits on Sundays.
64