Starting today, all arrivals to Taiwan are to be tested three times for COVID-19 before the end of their quarantine period.
The policy is in response to the global spread of the more transmissible SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday.
People arriving by airplane or ship after noon today are to be subject to the policy in an effort to reinforce the health monitoring of international arrivals, the center said.
Photo: Ou Su-mei, Taipei Times
Upon arrival at an airport or port, people who have traveled to “key high-risk countries” in the past 14 days would be checked into a government-funded centralized quarantine facility, where they would stay for 14 days, it said.
The arrivals would be given a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test upon arrival and at the end of their quarantine period, it said.
As an extra precaution, they would be required to take a rapid COVID-19 test using an at-home test kit between days 10 and 12 of their quarantine, it said.
Photo: CNA
The center has listed seven key high-risk countries: Bangladesh, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Israel, Peru and the UK.
Arrivals who have not visited these countries in the past 14 days would also need to take a PCR test upon arrival, it said.
A designated vehicle would then take them to a quarantine hotel or centralized quarantine facility, where they would complete a 14-day quarantine at their expense, it said.
They would take a rapid home test between days 10 and 12 of their quarantine and take another PCR test before the end of the quarantine period, between days 12 and 14, the center said.
Genome sequencing would be performed for all arrivals who test positive, it added.
Experts recommended the change in policy at a meeting yesterday morning, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the CECC, told a daily news briefing in Taipei.
Previously, when arrivals could quarantine at home, there was the concern that if they had a false negative test result, there would be an increased risk of family members contracting COVID-19, Chen said.
However, all arrivals are now required to stay at a quarantine hotel or centralized quarantine facility, he said.
Also yesterday, the CECC announced that migrant workers employed in residences would once again be allowed to switch employers, effective immediately.
However, while caregivers and domestic workers may transfer to new employers, migrant workers in other industries still cannot, it said.
The new employer would be required to arrange and pay for their employee to receive a PCR test at a healthcare facility on their first day of employment, it said.
Employers who fail to do so would be fined NT$60,000 to NT$300,000 under the Employment Service Act (就業服務法) and no longer be allowed to hire foreign workers, it said.
Brokers acting on behalf of employers who fail to observe the requirement would also be subject to a fine of NT$60,000 to NT$300,000, it added.
Transfers are being reinstated for residence-based migrant workers given an easing in the COVID-19 situation and a continued demand by people with disabilities for caregivers, Deputy Minister of Labor Wang An-pang (王安邦) said.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS