A service for transporting people subject to mandatory home quarantine from the airport to their home is to commence today, the Central Epidemic Command Center said yesterday.
The service was established after evaluating the risk of exposing those on public transportation or taxi drivers to people ordered to quarantine themselves at home, said Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center.
“The service begins on Wednesday, with a grace period of a week, so that starting on Wednesday next week, people who are ordered to quarantine themselves at home, but break the order by taking public transportation will face a fine of NT$100,000 to NT$1 million [US$3,324 to US$33,237] according to the Special Act on COVID-19 Prevention, Relief and Restoration (嚴重特殊傳染性肺炎防治及紓困振興特別條例),” Ministry of Transportation and Communications Department of Aviation and Navigation Director-General Yeh Hsieh-lung (葉協隆) said.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
Travelers placed under home quarantine can be driven from the airport to their home by family and friends, but if they have no one to pick them up, they are required to take the special transportation service, Yeh said.
Arrangements have been made at airports so that people are guided to the service vehicles, he added.
The fare for short to medium-distance travel from airport to home would be determined by a taxi meter, while the fare for longer-distance travel would be twice the price of a high-speed rail ticket, Yeh said.
Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport would arrange rental vehicles for those traveling longer distances, while other airports would provide scheduled taxis, Yeh added.
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp (台灣高鐵) yesterday announced that it was canceling non-reserved seat services during the Tomb Sweeping Festival break, which is to begin on April 2, in compliance with the nation’s disease-prevention efforts.
Additional reporting by Shelley Shan
BUSY DAY: The same day the USS ‘Barry’ passed through the Strait, Taiwan was ending its Han Kuang military exercises, while China said it conducted an exercise near Taiwan A US Navy ship on Friday sailed through the Taiwan Strait, marking the ninth time a US military vessel has transited the Strait since US President Joe Biden took office in January. The USS Barry, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, conducted a “routine” transit through the Strait, the US Navy said in a statement, adding that the journey through international waters was conducted “in accordance with international law.” “The ship’s transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the US’ commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific,” the US Navy said. “The United States military flies, sails and operates anywhere international law allows.” The Ministry
FRUIT SPAT: The COA said China had not given evidence for halting wax and custard apple imports, adding that it would spend NT$1bn on promoting sales of the fruit Taipei threatened to take China to the WTO yesterday after Beijing said it would suspend wax apple and custard apple imports from Taiwan due to pest concerns. China’s customs administration earlier yesterday said it had repeatedly found pests called Planococcus minor, a type of mealybug, on wax and custard apples from Taiwan. It asked its Guangdong branch and all affiliated offices to stop clearing the products from today. China had acted unilaterally, without providing scientific evidence, Council of Agriculture (COA) Minister Chen Chi-chung (陳吉仲) told a news conference, criticizing the announcement’s timing, as it came during the Mid-Autumn Festival, celebrated in Taiwan
ON ALERT: A woman who tested positive for COVID-19 while abroad last year tested negative twice in Taiwan before showing a positive result on Sunday, the center said The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported two locally transmitted COVID-19 infections, four imported cases and no deaths. The CECC meanwhile warned nearly 500 people to monitor their health after a woman tested postive. The center also reported that a previous local case — a female worker at Taoyuan International Airport Services (桃園航勤), who had the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 — likely contracted the disease from the same source as a previous imported case from Turkey. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said that the two local cases were reported in Taipei, and are a
CLOSED DOORS? The new US rules, which are to be implemented in November, have sparked concern in Taiwan, given its low fully vaccinated coverage rate The US plans to allow entry to most foreign air travelers as long as they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 — while adding a testing requirement for unvaccinated Americans and barring entry for foreigners who have not received shots. The measures announced on Monday by the White House mark the most sweeping change to US travel policies in months, and widen the gap in rules between vaccinated people — who would see restrictions relaxed — and unvaccinated people. The new rules would replace existing bans on foreigners’ travel to the US from certain regions, including Europe. While the move would open the
RSS