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TAIPEI: People suspected of having Covid-19 are waiting up to nine days for a confirmed result in Taiwan, as a backlog at overstretched testing facilities compounds the challenges facing authorities battling a new outbreak.
The number of people seeking Covid tests has sharply increased over the past two weeks, stretching testing facilities that are now struggling to keep up, data from Taiwan’s Centers for Disease Control indicate. That’s led to frequent delays between when possible cases are first reported and when results are made available.
A healthcare worker wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) collects a swab sample from a person at a temporary Covid-19 testing site in Taipei, Taiwan, on Monday, May 17, 2021. Taiwan is facing hundreds of untraceable infections after a year of being one of the biggest success stories of Covid-19 containment, raising the prospect that the pathogen has been spreading undetected through the community for months.
Taiwan’s government has decided to report a case based on when a test was taken — rather than when there was a result — leading to daily revisions of total infection numbers in recent days. While the intention is to keep the data as accurate as possible, it leaves officials with a less-than-perfect overview of how the case curve is developing and whether current virus-related restrictions are having any impact — making formulating effective policy more difficult.
Wait expectations
The health ministry reported an additional 281 new confirmed infections and six deaths on Tuesday, bringing Taiwan’s total cases to 4,285 and deaths to 35 since the pandemic began. Officials also added a further 261 backdated cases stretching as far back as May 16. The ministry says the delays are caused by transporting samples, laboratory capacity and reporting of results.
A vendor wears a protective mask while working at a food stall at a market in Taipei, Taiwan, on Friday, May 21, 2021. A senior Taiwan official said U.S. assistance securing more Covid-19 vaccines could serve to protect the critical semiconductor industry at a time of tight chip supplies globally and a rising number of coronavirus cases on the island.
Taiwan is fighting a surge in cases that has both threatened its status as one of the world’s biggest success stories in containing the virus, and underscored how months of relative normalcy have made it less prepared than some other places in Asia to deal with a sudden outbreak. Authorities have tightened Covid-related restrictions and are scrambling to secure more vaccines, with only enough doses on hand to fully inoculate less than 2% of its 23.5 million population.
A soft lockdown has been imposed over the past weeks, with schools, gyms and bars closed until mid-June and restaurants in Taipei only offering takeout. Offices, public transport and supermarkets remain open.
The number of people seeking Covid tests has sharply increased over the past two weeks, stretching testing facilities that are now struggling to keep up, data from Taiwan’s Centers for Disease Control indicate. That’s led to frequent delays between when possible cases are first reported and when results are made available.
A healthcare worker wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) collects a swab sample from a person at a temporary Covid-19 testing site in Taipei, Taiwan, on Monday, May 17, 2021. Taiwan is facing hundreds of untraceable infections after a year of being one of the biggest success stories of Covid-19 containment, raising the prospect that the pathogen has been spreading undetected through the community for months.
Taiwan’s government has decided to report a case based on when a test was taken — rather than when there was a result — leading to daily revisions of total infection numbers in recent days. While the intention is to keep the data as accurate as possible, it leaves officials with a less-than-perfect overview of how the case curve is developing and whether current virus-related restrictions are having any impact — making formulating effective policy more difficult.
Wait expectations
The health ministry reported an additional 281 new confirmed infections and six deaths on Tuesday, bringing Taiwan’s total cases to 4,285 and deaths to 35 since the pandemic began. Officials also added a further 261 backdated cases stretching as far back as May 16. The ministry says the delays are caused by transporting samples, laboratory capacity and reporting of results.
A vendor wears a protective mask while working at a food stall at a market in Taipei, Taiwan, on Friday, May 21, 2021. A senior Taiwan official said U.S. assistance securing more Covid-19 vaccines could serve to protect the critical semiconductor industry at a time of tight chip supplies globally and a rising number of coronavirus cases on the island.
Taiwan is fighting a surge in cases that has both threatened its status as one of the world’s biggest success stories in containing the virus, and underscored how months of relative normalcy have made it less prepared than some other places in Asia to deal with a sudden outbreak. Authorities have tightened Covid-related restrictions and are scrambling to secure more vaccines, with only enough doses on hand to fully inoculate less than 2% of its 23.5 million population.
A soft lockdown has been imposed over the past weeks, with schools, gyms and bars closed until mid-June and restaurants in Taipei only offering takeout. Offices, public transport and supermarkets remain open.
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