Border policies are to be relaxed for certain travelers from China, Hong Kong and Macau from Monday next week, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday.
As Taiwan’s COVID-19 situation is gradually being brought under control and the number of inbound travelers has remained below the weekly limit of 150,000, the nation’s borders would be further opened to people from the three destinations, the council said in a news release.
Chinese students would be allowed to enter Taiwan for short-term study and research programs, while people from Hong Kong and Macau would be allowed entry for work and religious purposes, and as part of tour groups, the council said.
Photo: Wu Cheng-ting, Taipei Times
Authorities would process Chinese students’ entry applications normally, as Taiwan reopened its borders on Oct. 13, it added.
Tour groups should apply through travel agencies approved by the Tourism Bureau, the council said, adding that each group can consist of five to 40 people and can stay in Taiwan for up to 15 days.
The council would continue to adjust the border policies for people from China, Hong Kong and Macau to strike a balance between economic development and disease prevention, it added.
The government on Sept. 29 allowed people from the three destinations to apply to visit Taiwan for humanitarian, family or business reasons.
Separately yesterday, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) reported 29,922 new local COVID-19 cases and 55 imported ones, as well as 81 deaths.
It also reclassified 137 cases as moderate and 83 as severe, including two cases of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) involving a one-year-old girl and a 10-year-old boy.
The boy was discharged from hospital on Sunday after his condition improved, while the girl is still in an intensive care unit, said Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞), deputy head of the CECC’s medical response division.
The girl was diagnosed with MIS-C 168 days after being diagnosed with COVID-19, marking the longest interval recorded in Taiwan, the CECC said.
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