Taipei, May 13 (CNA) Retailers 7-Eleven and Cosmed announced Friday that they will start selling COVID-19 rapid saliva-based test kits at a select number of stores from Saturday amid high demand following a surge in cases in Taiwan.

The first among Taiwan's major convenience stores to start such an offer, 7-Eleven said that 70 designated branches in Taipei and New Taipei would each have 100 Gmate COVID-19 Ag Saliva test kits in stock from 9 a.m. Saturday.

The single-use test kits will be priced at NT$175 (US$6) each, with shoppers allowed to buy a maximum of two tests at one time, according to 7-Eleven.

Cosmed also said it will distribute 20 five-test Gmate kits to each of its 30 designated branch stores in Taipei and New Taipei.

Each packet will be priced at NT$875, and customers will be limited to one kit per purchase, Cosmed said.

(By Tseng Chi-yi and Lee Hsin-Yin)

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