I couldn’t get an appointment so tthe husband and I did the walk-in pcr test this morning at Shuang Ho hospital at 8am. It took about 15 minutes and most of that was filling out forms. They do the testing check-in at the emergency room entrance door, then the test to the right of that outdoors. Then, you go into the emergency room area and pay the bill. Bring copies of your health card, ARC if you have, and NHI card. They ask if you want same day ($7000) or next day at $5800. We’re going to pick up the results at 7pm.
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I’ll pay top dollar for same day result.
Because you might be at a stage of the infection where your viral load isn’t high enough to be detected when you do the first test.
Rapid antigen tests are less sensitive in asymptomatic people and people who are very early in their course of infection. Therefore waiting 36 hours before tests increases the chances of catching an infection.
Question for anybody who got a PCR test for flying in Taiwan: Did the certificate you got in Taiwan state the precise time the sample was taken or only the date, but not the hour, please?
Yes, the report stated the time of the examination.
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Has anyone else here tried one? I bought one today, as they just arrived to my local 7-11. I forget how much I paid but around 350 to 400. No English instructions, but it’s easy to find a YouTube video. Results were negative, which is nice to know.
Are these the tests teachers are supposed to take if they refuse vaccines?
The kit
The contents
The results
The process
I guess this is the right thread to bump. I’m wondering if it’d be sensible or panicky to get some COVID self-tests to have around, seeing as how they seem such a hot commodity elsewhere. I think the main reason I’d want them is to check, in event of sniffles, if I can go out shopping guilt-free.
Assorted questions, in case anyone knows the answers: are these currently easily available in Taiwan? And how much do they cost?
My conjecture is that they may not be very useful here anyway except for peace-of-mind purposes; we’re more likely to shut things down rather than have people testing to see if they should go into work or not.
TL;DR: I’ve got enough toilet paper. What else can I hoard?
Testing has become a big issue in Australia now as the PCR tests are taking too long to process and RAT tests are in short supply, and even being sold at an extortionate price according to reports. Toilet Paper supply seems to be holding up though!!!. 50,000+ positive tests reported so far today and not a lockdown whisper in sight (except in the PR of WA, which still clings to its Zero policy). 90%+ vaccination rate has allayed most fears and hospitals have not been overrun. Boosters at 5 months there now for the elderly and compromised, talk of it coming down to 4 months.
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Yeah, hence my question. I’m reading a lot about demand for tests in other countries, and am idly wondering “Huh, should I be doing something like that to prepare here?”
But really my first priority should be making sure I’ve got some basic drugs around for dealing with a “mild” case (which, remember, can still be equivalent to the worst few days of illness most of us have ever had).
Aren’t they available in convenience stores? I’ve seen them but that was a few months ago. I don’t remember the cost. A few hundred nt. I’ll take a look around at a Family Mart later this morning.
Do you know what these basic drugs are? Cold medicine and vitamin C?
I think so? People posted about them here, but I’m not sure if they’re easy to find, or about cost, or what packaging I should look for.
Lots of tissues. Pain medication: acetaminophen/Tylenol. Cough medicine, although apparently OTC ones aren’t very helpful. “Pseudoephedrin phenylephrine for a stuffy nose and diphenhydramine for a runny nose.”
There’s a list here, with a few too many caveats like “There is no direct evidence at this time”.
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Hi Doc, do you have a source for that photo?
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I’m glad that he brought some attention to this. My mom was writhing in pain when she got her test before departure from Taiwan. She pulled away a couple of times before she finally resigned herself to the pain to come. It’s silly at this point because saliva is better with Omicron, from what I understand.
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Stabbed in the brain and then made to apologise. Bad week.
The nurse had to personally run to the lab to run the test or deliver the sample or something like that. You would have thought that someone else would do that part.
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Yeah, it sounds a little implausible. 
Good that he drew attention to this, and shame that he was forced to apologize. Doubt it’ll do much good though - the last part of the response from the CECC in another article I saw earlier was along the lines of “you have to comply with Taiwan’s rules”. 
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That is what I read, too. Can’t have foreigners complaining about Taiwan’s Covid Response.
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