The Japanese government yesterday announced that it lowered its COVID-19 travel alert for Taiwan.
The travel alert was downgraded from Level 3, which cautioned the public not to take any trips, to Level 2, which advises against non-urgent, non-essential trips.
Japan also eased travel curbs for Australia, Brunei, China, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs Toshimitsu Motegi said that Tokyo is stepping up efforts to revive its economy, while preventing the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
With the lower alert level, Taiwanese no longer need to provide a certificate for negative polymerase chain reaction test results upon their arrival in Japan.
Japan prohibits entry to foreign tourists, but foreigners who are holders of certain types of visa, such as a student visa, or those with family members in Japan can enter. They are required to comply with quarantine measures upon their arrival.
In Taipei yesterday, Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥), spokesman for the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC), said that Taiwan continues to be transparent in how it handles the pandemic.
Chuang made the remarks in response to doubts raised by some Singaporean media, which had called into question Taiwan on Thursday marking 200 days since its last reported domestic infection.
The media cited reports saying that people departing Taiwan had tested positive for COVID-19 in other countries.
However, those who had contact with those cases all tested negative, Chuang said, adding that the center would have added such cases to its tally and publicized them as domestic cases if other countries had proven them to be.
The center yesterday reported one new imported case of COVID-19, bringing the total of confirmed cases in the country to 554.
A migrant worker, a Filipino in his 30s, showed no symptoms when arriving in Taiwan on Oct. 15, but he was tested prior to being released from quarantine on Thursday and the results returned positive yesterday, Chuang said.
People with no symptoms who enter Taiwan from the Philippines no longer need to be tested for COVID-19 upon their arrival, but are required to be tested at the end of their 14-day quarantine.
The Filipino had previously contracted and recovered from COVID-19 while in the Philippines, the center said.
Additional reporting by Lin Hui-chin
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