Eligibility is being expanded for out-of-pocket COVID-19 testing, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday.
As some nations require visitors to provide health certificates to enter, and as the domestic COVID-19 situation is stable, with sufficient testing capacity, eligibility for testing would be expanded, the center said.
Those newly eligible for testing include people ordered into quarantine or isolation who want to attend a first or second-degree family member’s funeral or visit a family member who is terminally ill, and people who need to travel abroad due to an emergency or critical illness affecting a family member, it said.
Photo courtesy of the Central Epidemic Command Center via CNA
The guidelines include people who require testing for work or school, and foreign nationals who need to leave Taiwan, as well as dependents of eligible people who are leaving the country, it said.
An eligible person who wants to be tested can apply once every three months at one of the 18 designated hospitals that provide out-of-pocket COVID-19 testing, the center said.
Detailed rules for applying for the tests are available on the Centers for Disease Control’s Web site, it said.
Photo: Tsai Tsung-hsien, Taipei Times
The CECC said that as a level 3 “warning” travel advisory is still in effect for all countries, people should avoid unnecessary travel and pay attention to possible risks and border control measures at their destination, as well as conform to quarantine rules when returning to Taiwan.
No new COVID-19 cases were reported in Taiwan yesterday, the CECC said.
Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the CECC, said that 411 people who had the disease have been released from isolation.
The total confirmed cases in Taiwan remained at 441, with 350 imported cases, 55 domestic cases and a cluster of 36 cases on a navy vessel, CECC data showed.
Seven people have died from the disease, the data showed.
A Taiwanese man who tested positive for COVID-19 in the Philippines returned to Taiwan on Friday, Chen said.
The man reported his condition to the center before his flight home, Chen said, adding that he sat in the last row on the airplane and wore a mask throughout the flight.
The man, who had mild symptoms, including an itchy throat, was tested again at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, and although he tested negative, the CECC moved him to a central quarantine facility for further observation, Chen said.
Top CECC officials yesterday visited the night market on Kenting Road in Pingtung County to demonstrate how people can travel safely if they observe personal protective measures.
Before departing Taipei, Chen said at the CECC’s daily news conference that domestic travel is relatively safe, and people can lead healthy and sustainable lives as long as everyone abides by the measures.
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