As the COVID-19 pandemic shows signs of slowing down, and having considered the Taiwanese medical system’s ability to cope, as well as the demands of business and trade, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung, who heads the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC), announced that, starting March 1, foreigners (including those from Hong Kong, Macao and China) holding valid residence certificates for Taiwan can enter the country without applying for permission in advance. However, they are required to present a negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test result obtained within three days before their flight, and home isolation after entry still requires one person per household.
Due to the successive discovery of mutant virus strains abroad, Chen said that in order to avoid the risk of community transmission due to large-scale gatherings, people must still wear masks during such events, and they must not remove them except to drink water. If a person does not wear a mask or eats and drinks carelessly, the offender will be fined between NT$3,000 and NT$15,000 by the local government of the place where the offense took place.
The CECC also announced that, starting this month, passengers coming to Taiwan from medium-low and low-risk countries for short business trips can apply for shortened home isolation. Countries and regions with low infection risk include New Zealand, Macau, Palau, Fiji, Brunei, Laos, Nauru, East Timor, Mauritius, the Marshall Islands and Bhutan, while those with medium-low infection risk include Australia, Singapore, Vietnam and Cambodia.
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Liberty Times 照片：自由時報記者朱沛雄
(Translated by Lin Lee-kai, Taipei Times)
考量國際疫情趨緩、國內防疫量能足夠與商務貿易交流需求，中央流行疫情指揮中心指揮官陳時中宣布，三月一日起，持有我國有效居留證的外國人（含港澳中），不需申請就可入境，但仍需提供搭機前三天的PCR 核酸檢驗陰性證明，入境居家檢疫仍需一人一戶。
由於國外陸續發現變種病毒株，陳時中表示，為了避免因辦理大型集會活動造成社區傳播風險，民眾參加大型集會仍要全程戴口罩，並且除飲水外，不得摘除。若未戴口罩或任意飲食，由違反義務行為地的地方政府依法處三千元以上、一萬五千元以下罰鍰。
指揮中心也公布三月起恢復中低與低風險國家來台從事短期商務者，可申請縮短居家檢疫。目前低感染風險國家／地區有紐西蘭、澳門、帛琉、斐濟、汶萊、寮國、諾魯、東帝汶、模里西斯、馬紹爾群島、不丹；中低感染風險國家／地區有澳洲、新加坡、越南、柬埔寨。
(自由時報記者楊媛婷)
With the nation in the middle of a long period of drought, the water level at Sun Moon Lake has dropped significantly, exposing numerous objects that had been sitting at the bottom of the lake. One visitor who incautiously dropped his iPhone into the lake one year ago was recently reacquainted with his long-lost gadget as a result of the severe drought. The tourist, surnamed Chen, shared the news on the Facebook group “Baofei Commune.” Chen says he took part in a stand up paddle board activity one year ago at Sun Moon Lake. Chen says that he fell into the
A: How’s the house-hunting going? Have you found yourself a new apartment yet? B: We’ve just started looking, but we’re not having too much luck. A: Where are you looking? B: Anywhere will do, to be honest, so long as it’s near an MRT station. I would prefer to be reasonably close to work. A: 你房子找得怎麼樣了？找到新公寓了嗎？ B: 我們才剛開始找，可是手氣不太好。 A: 你要找的是哪裡的房子啊？ B: 其實地點不拘，只要離捷運站近就可以了。我比較偏向找離我上班地點近一點的地方。 （Paul Cooper, Taipei Times／台北時報林俐凱譯） English 英文: Chinese 中文:
A: How much are you willing to pay for rent? B: Well, we’re thinking of NT$20,000 per month, but we could stretch it to NT$25,000. A: I think you might have to aim slightly higher. I doubt you’ll find a nice place for that. You could try, but you might be looking for a long time. B: I’m happy to spend a good whack of my salary on renting a comfortable apartment, but my partner would prefer to rent a smaller place and save to buy later on. A: 你房租預算是多少？ B: 嗯，我們大概預估月租兩萬，不過也可以提高到兩萬五啦。 A: 我覺得你可能需要把預算稍微調高一點，不然你這種預算大概找不到什麼好房子。你還是可以用這個價位試試看啦，不過可能要花很長的時間才找得到。 B: 我是很願意砸薪水來租一間住起來舒服的公寓，可是我的另一半寧可租小一點的房子，把錢省下來以後買房。 （Paul Cooper, Taipei
How’s the house-hunting going? (3/5) 你房子找得怎麼樣了？（三） A: How are you looking? Are you walking around neighborhoods you like and seeing if people have placed signs in their windows? B: No, we’re looking online, filtering for neighborhoods we would want to live in and setting the range we are willing to pay. A: Do you need to specify what kind of apartment you’re searching for? B: Yes. We’ve checked the boxes for a new building with an elevator, for at least two rooms and a balcony, and at least 20 ping. We need space for the dogs. A: You have dogs? Then you’d better also check whether the
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