The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) expects an increase in the number of returning travelers in the coming days, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said yesterday, adding that the varying qualities of COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test reports from other countries is a big concern.
Chen, who heads the center, was speaking to the media on the sidelines of a Taiwan Foundation for Rare Disorders scholarship award ceremony in Taipei.
“As the global COVID-19 situation is worsening, and with some holidays coming up, there might be an increase in the number of overseas Taiwanese returning to Taiwan,” he said.
Photo: Tony Yao, Taipei Times
The expected increase in numbers in the next few days is also linked to a policy requiring all arriving passengers to provide the result of a PCR test issued within three days of boarding a flight to Taiwan, starting tomorrow, he said.
Asked how the authenticity of PCR results provided by arriving passengers could be verified, Chen said “it is very difficult … the different levels of quality of PCR test results [from different countries], the possibility of fabricated PCR test results, and even how to prove that individuals have been vaccinated ... these are all difficult problems.”
Therefore, the center cannot only rely on the PCR results taken before departure when judging whether an arriving passenger is infected with COVID-19, he said.
Asked to comment on public concern that travelers would need to take another PCR test if their scheduled flight is suddenly canceled, Chen said that would be an exceptional condition, so the traveler would not need to take another test or face a fine.
Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥), who is also the CECC’s spokesman, told a news conference that it is difficult to identify fake reports, and that the center could try to find patterns of possible fake reports among those received.
The center encourages people to report anyone they know of who has used fabricated PCR test result documents, he said, adding that people who provide a fake report face a fine of NT$10,000 to NT$150,000 for breaching the Communicable Disease Control Act (傳染病防治法).
Meanwhile, Chuang said that three Indonesian women who came to Taiwan to work have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the number of cases in the country to 651.
Two of them did not experience symptoms in Taiwan, but tested positive in a mandatory test taken on Friday before leaving centralized quarantine, Chuang said.
The other case had an abnormal sense of smell on Tuesday last week while staying in centralized quarantine, but did not report the condition, as she thought the symptom was mild and brief, he said, adding that she also tested positive in a mandatory test on Friday.
MAKING WAVES: China’s maritime militia could become a nontraditional threat in war, clogging up shipping lanes to prevent US or Japanese intervention, a report said About 1,900 Chinese ships flying flags of convenience and fishing vessels that participated in China’s military exercises around Taiwan last month and in January last year have been listed for monitoring, Coast Guard Administration (CGA) Deputy Director-General Hsieh Ching-chin (謝慶欽) said yesterday. Following amendments to the Commercial Port Act (商港法) and the Law of Ships (船舶法) last month, the CGA can designate possible berthing areas or deny ports of call for vessels suspected of loitering around areas where undersea cables can be accessed, Oceans Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said. The list of suspected ships, originally 300, had risen to about
DAREDEVIL: Honnold said it had always been a dream of his to climb Taipei 101, while a Netflix producer said the skyscraper was ‘a real icon of this country’ US climber Alex Honnold yesterday took on Taiwan’s tallest building, becoming the first person to scale Taipei 101 without a rope, harness or safety net. Hundreds of spectators gathered at the base of the 101-story skyscraper to watch Honnold, 40, embark on his daredevil feat, which was also broadcast live on Netflix. Dressed in a red T-shirt and yellow custom-made climbing shoes, Honnold swiftly moved up the southeast face of the glass and steel building. At one point, he stepped onto a platform midway up to wave down at fans and onlookers who were taking photos. People watching from inside
Japan’s strategic alliance with the US would collapse if Tokyo were to turn away from a conflict in Taiwan, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said yesterday, but distanced herself from previous comments that suggested a possible military response in such an event. Takaichi expressed her latest views on a nationally broadcast TV program late on Monday, where an opposition party leader criticized her for igniting tensions with China with the earlier remarks. Ties between Japan and China have sunk to the worst level in years after Takaichi said in November that a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could bring about a Japanese
STREAMLINED: The dedicated funding would allow the US to transfer equipment to Taiwan when needed and order upgraded replacements for stockpiles, a source said The US House of Representatives on Thursday passed a defense appropriations bill totaling US$838.7 billion, of which US$1 billion is to be allocated to reinforcing security cooperation with Taiwan and US$150 million to replace defense articles provided to the nation. These are part of the Consolidated Appropriation Act, which the US House yesterday passed with 341 votes in favor and 88 against. The act must be passed by the US Senate before Friday next week to avoid another government shutdown. The US House Committee on Appropriations on Monday unveiled the act, saying that it allocates US$1 billion for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative
RSS