"Stable Supply of COVID-19 Self-Test Kits" ... 21 Million Units to Be Supplied This Week

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced on the 20th that it will supply 21 million COVID-19 self-test kits available for individual purchase to about 75,000 locations nationwide, including pharmacies and convenience stores, by the 26th.

Earlier, in the third week of February (13th?19th), 19 million kits from the private sector were supplied to sales outlets nationwide.

The Ministry explained, "The total amount of self-test kits scheduled to be supplied nationwide in the third and fourth weeks of February was originally 30 million, but thanks to new product approvals and increased production capacity, an additional 10 million kits have been secured."

In the public sector, including public health center screening clinics, temporary screening clinics, kindergartens, and elementary schools, 12.18 million self-test kits were supplied in the third week of February, and 12.6 million kits are expected to be supported in the fourth week.

The Ministry emphasized again that since the supply of kits is proceeding smoothly, individuals do not need to purchase excessively in advance, and free testing is available at public health center screening clinics or temporary screening clinics.

A Ministry official stated, "We will continue to actively cooperate with self-test kit manufacturers to increase production so that individuals can purchase kits at the right time and at reasonable prices for testing."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.