The second phase of a program to bring migrant workers to Taiwan is to start on Tuesday next week, after the first phase of the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC)-approved program was launched on Nov. 11 last year, Workforce Development Agency Director-General Tsai Meng-liang (蔡孟良) has said.
While phase one allowed entry to workers from Indonesia and Thailand, phase two would allow entry to those from the Philippines and Vietnam, Tsai said.
Migrant workers — all of whom must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 — are required to register on the Ministry of Labor’s airport service Web site for foreign labor (fwas.wda.gov.tw), upload their vaccination certificate and be approved by the ministry before arriving in Taiwan, he said.
Photo: Yao Kai-shiou, Liberty Times
Employers must book accommodation at quarantine hotels for the workers’ mandatory 14-day quarantine and seven-day self-health management, as well as provide advance notice to the local government, he said, adding that workers must test negative before leaving the hotel and heading to the workplace.
If centralized quarantine facilities have extra rooms, employers could book them, Tsai said, adding that central government officials could also arrange quarantine dormitories if they obtained CECC approval.
Meanwhile, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, yesterday reported two new local cases of COVID-19: a family member of a previous case associated with the Port of Kaohsiung cluster and a preschool child linked to a cluster associated with a realtor in Taipei.
Photo: CNA
The two cases had tested negative, but tested positive upon ending isolation, he said.
“Since the Lunar New Year holiday, the local COVID-19 situation has seemed to be under control, with no new transmission chains detected,” Chen said. “We will continue to monitor the situation.”
Regarding the Re-Yi Distribution Service Co (日翊物流) cluster in Taoyuan, Chen said that 840 of the 917 people in isolation had as of yesterday tested negative in a second test.
Those linked to the Askey Computer Corp (亞旭) cluster in Taoyuan are in isolation and were to receive a third test yesterday, he said.
Most of the new cases linked to the Port of Kaohsiung cluster tested positive while in isolation, and new genome sequencing results showed that they contracted the same strain of the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 as previous cases, he said.
“The Lunar New Year quarantine program — which offered inbound travelers three quarantine options — will also be extended until Feb. 28,” he said.
Asked whether quarantine measures would be eased after Feb. 28, Chen said that the local COVID-19 situation needs to be monitored through to the 228 Peace Memorial Day long weekend.
The center would consult with experts on a “Taiwanese model” of balancing economic growth and disease prevention, Chen added.
Business travel would have priority over tourist travel if the COVID-19 situation remains under control and national borders are gradually reopened, he said.
Chen also reported 47 imported cases: twenty-eight travelers who tested positive upon arrival, 18 who tested positive in quarantine and one who tested positive following quarantine.
Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞), deputy head of the CECC’s medical response division, said that three cases would be reclassified as local cases after two (case No. 18,761 and No. 18,786) were found to be part of a quarantine hotel cluster and another (case No. 19,042) was found to be linked to the Port of Kaohsiung cluster.
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