TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) announced Thursday (April 14) that the government is requisitioning the production of COVID-19 rapid test kits, eying a supply of 40 million units per month.

Taiwan has seen increased demand for self-test tools amid a spike in local cases, and complaints have been voiced about the relatively high cost of the kits compared with other countries.

Su said from now on the distribution of the products will be coordinated by the Central Epidemic Disease Center (CECC). The self-administered screening kits are set to cost no more than NT$200 (US$6.90) per unit, per CNA.

Currently, a rapid test kit available for sale in Taiwan comes at NT$360, more expensive than Germany, Singapore, and South Korea, according to the main opposition party Kuomintang (KMT), which has demanded a probe into alleged price gouging.

CECC has said there are three ways to access such items. People can purchase one themselves or find them at designated places via a registration system. This was the case with medical masks when supply was scarce during the early stages of the pandemic, per Liberty Times.

The third way of getting a rapid test is through clinics, where individuals can get a kit if they have respiratory symptoms and are deemed eligible by a doctor. There are 540 such clinics nationwide (see Google Maps for further information).