Gov't tries to ease panic buying of COVID-19 test kits

Workers assemble COVID-19 rapid antigen test kits at a factory in Gunpo, Gyeonggi Province, Wednesday. Joint Press Corps

By Lee Hae-rin

The rapid spread of the highly transmissible Omicron variant has led to skyrocketing numbers of daily COVID-19 infections, surpassing 50,000, resulting in the panic buying of at-home test kits.

The shortage of self-test kits has boosted its prices.

As of Friday, at-home test kits are running short in pharmacies and selling online at prices two times more expensive than in offline stores here. For example, a set of rapid antigen test kits manufactured by SD Biosensor, which costs 16,000 won ($13) in pharmacies, is being sold for over 30,000 won online.

COVID-19 rapid antigen test kits are sold out at a pharmacy in Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap

Moreover, the price range of at-home test kits varies vastly, often double or triple the lowest prices online. A set of Rapigen test kits is being sold at between 9,600 won and 25,920 won online. The self-test kits are sold out almost instantly from online sellers that offer them at the lowest prices, reminding some online buyers of the mask shortage in 2020.

Following a surge in coronavirus infections, the country experienced a mask shortage in 2020 due to a sharp increase in demand. The government tackled the shortage by magnifying production capacity and controlling distribution channels.

To control the stability of supply, the government announced, Thursday, that it will ban online sales of self-test kits and allow limited supplies exclusively in pharmacies and convenience stores starting this Sunday.
Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said during a COVID-19 response meeting in the government complex in central Seoul, Friday, that the government is also considering placing a price ceiling on COVID-19 rapid antigen test kits to ensure a stable supply.

"There seem to be some assumptions that the government has given up on controlling the pandemic and is neglecting patients in at-home treatment," Kim said. "But the government will never turn away from people in need of help or give up reaching out to them."

In response to the sharply rising number of infections, the country has shifted the use of available medical resources to high-risk patients aged over 60 and those in their 50s with underlying health conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, chronic kidney diseases, chronic lung diseases, cancer and obesity.

According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), the country added 53,926 new infections for Thursday, lower than the previous day's 54,122 but higher than the week's average of 43,521. The country's total number of infection cases amounted to 1,239,287 as of Thursday.

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