By Tina Han and Teng Pei-ju Enditem / J
Taipei, May 19 (CNA) Taiwanese companies have joined forces to provide COVID-19 test kits and medical equipment, some of which are free of charge, to medical facilities that have been burdened with rising COVID-19 cases across Taiwan in recent days.
At least 10 companies have pledged to provide rapid and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test kits and virus detection equipment to local governments and hospitals as of Wednesday.
The test kits and equipment will be provided through donations, free loans, or purchases at discounted pricing with the aim of speeding up COVID-19 testing efforts in Taiwan, the Precision Medicine and Molecular Diagnostics Industry Association of Taiwan said on Tuesday.
Those companies include TaiDoc Technology Co., which said on Tuesday that it will donate 58,000 rapid test kits, and Kim Forest Enterprise Co., which has pledged to provide 10 units of virus detection equipment along with 150,000 PCR test kits.
Meanwhile, TCI Co. said it decided to contribute two virus detection systems it had originally prepared for overseas orders to Taiwan's testing stations.
The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) on Wednesday raised its COVID-19 alert to Level 3 nationwide after the country confirmed over 100 domestically transmitted infections for the fifth consecutive day.
Health Minister Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the CECC, also advised local governments across Taiwan to set up rapid testing sites in order to more efficiently identify COVID-19 cases and curb the spread of the virus.
Medical equipment manufacturer Mediland on Wednesday also announced that it will provide 20 Hyper Light disinfection robots for two months free of charge.
The robots will be sent to medical centers and hospitals in northern Taiwan that have been treating COVID-19 patients, said the company, adding that it has also donated disinfection equipment to the Legislative Yuan and a long-term care facility in Taipei.
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