COVID-19 antibody tests to assess prevalence: CECCBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterThe Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday said it plans to conduct antibody tests using blood donated from April to July to assess the prevalence of COVID-19 in the nation, with donors having the choice to opt out before Oct. 18. To prevent the spread of the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2, the CECC on Aug. 23 introduced five enhanced COVID-19 monitoring measures, including a large-scale antibody study to understand the prevalence of COVID-19, the SARS-CoV-2 antibody prevalence achieved by vaccination or natural infection, and their geographical distribution and trends in Taiwan. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung, who heads the Central Epidemic Command Center, speaks about the center’s mask policy on Saturday. The CECC yesterday also reported no new local COVID-19 infections or deaths, but seven imported cases from Malaysia, Vietnam and the US. Chen also reported that 208,307 doses of COVID-19 vaccines were administered on Monday, bringing the nation’s first-dose vaccination coverage to 57.67 percent, or 71.72 doses administered per 100 people.

Source: Taipei Times October 05, 2021 15:56 UTC