Premier Su Tseng-chang announced that children under six will be eligible for five free rapid test kits each during his visit to a pharmacy in New Taipei City.
As of the 25th, Taiwan has reported 15 severe pediatric cases of COVID-19. Of the 15, seven developed encephalitis and five have died. With demand for rapid test kits continuing to soar, Premier Su Tseng-chang, who visited a pharmacy in New Taipei City on the 27th, says children under six will be eligible for five free rapid test kits each.
Su Tseng-chang, ROC Premier: “We are going to give children under six with national health insurance cards five free rapid test kits. They will be distributed by pharmacies.”
The central government also announced on the 26th that members of medium-to-low income households and residents of long-term care facilities would be eligible for, respectively, five and three free rapid test kits each. An estimated 800,000 people will benefit. New Taipei City Mayor Hou Yu-ih welcomed Su to his hard-hit city, saying Su's visit serves as encouragement to frontline medical workers. Many of the central government's policies were initially proposed by New Taipei City, including residential care, changes to residential quarantine and treating positive rapid tests as a confirmed diagnosis. However, it always takes several weeks after New Taipei City makes suggestions for the central government to implement them.
Hou Yu-ih, New Taipei City Mayor: “In the face of a critical medical worker shortage, New Taipei City first proposed a residential care policy on April 11. The central government agreed to implement this nationwide, it took them over a week. We then proposed changes to the residential quarantine system, which the central government again eventually implemented as the "3+4" format, and again after a significant lag. We proposed treating positive rapid tests as a confirmed diagnosis on May 1. The central government didn't implement this until May 25.”
Hou says the central government needs to start being proactive instead of reactive and get into the mindset of solving problems as soon as they emerge regardless of parties and politics involved.
新冠本土疫情持續延燒，兒童確診人數也不斷增加，截至25日國內已累計15例兒童重症個案，其中7例是腦炎，有5例死亡。考量民眾使用快篩需求大增，今上午行政院長蘇貞昌到新北板橋視察社區藥局時宣布，0至6歲孩童可領5劑免費的快篩試劑。
行政院長蘇貞昌表示：「我們要給0到6歲的孩童，持健保卡就可以領5劑的免費快篩試劑，所以要來拜託藥局特別繼續幫忙。」
事實上，中央在昨日才公布免費發放快篩試劑給低收入、中低收入戶每人5劑，及長照機構住民每人3劑，預計有80萬人受惠。對於蘇貞昌願意到第一線視察，日前頻頻因疫情槓上中央的新北市長侯友宜表示，能夠到第一線給基層鼓勵是正向積極的好事。至於新北市率先提出的居家照護、居隔轉型、快篩陽等同確診等政策，經過一段時間才被中央採納推行。侯友宜認為，新北市疫情是在浪頭，每個問題一定會最先發現。
[新北市長侯友宜表示：「新北市因為醫療量能非常不夠，所以我們首先提出了，4月11日要做居家照護，當然後來中央也同意全國啟動，大概慢了一個禮拜多，我們又提出了居隔轉型，中央也一段時間以後才以3+4的方式來做轉變，其中最重要關鍵的快篩陽等同確診，5月1日提出來，中央最後5月25日也做了。」
侯友宜強調，面對人民需要解決的問題，除了反映也一定會提出解決的方式，當第一線碰到問題，總指揮官就要出來解決問題，用這樣的心情做事，才能縮短人民痛苦，快速解決問題，不分你我黨派，快速應變，上下一心，同心協力解決防疫問題。