About 60,000 COVID-19 rapid test kits were sold within two hours across Taiwan as the government launched its rationing scheme yesterday.
As of 9am, 59,214 test kits had been sold at 2,323 stores and health centers, National Health Insurance (NHI) Administration Lee Po- chang (李伯璋) said.
Excessive usage caused the NHI system to crash for about 15 minutes at 8:30am, Lee said.
Purchase requires an NHI card or Alien Resident Certificate to be presented on days that are coordinated with the card’s number. The plan fixes the price at NT$500, with each kit containing five rapid tests.
The kits are available at NHI-contracted pharmacies