The Taipei City Government has added a fourth designated disease prevention hotel, allowing people under 14-day home quarantine to isolate themselves from NT$5,000 per day, it said yesterday.
The Taipei Department of Information and Tourism launched the first disease prevention hotel on Feb. 21 to accommodate travelers without a place to stay during mandatory home isolation or quarantine, and for people who want to separate themselves from their family members or roommates during quarantine.
The department said that as of yesterday, more than 120 travelers have stayed at one of the city’s three disease prevention hotels, and their 178 rooms are nearly all booked.
While most people who checked in to the hotels last week were from Europe, guests that checked in yesterday were all from the US and Canada, it said.
After the Central Epidemic Command Center on Friday issued a level 3 “warning” travel notice for all nations, requiring all travelers entering Taiwan to undergo 14-day home quarantine, the department designated another hotel for quarantine use.
The fourth hotel adds 20 rooms and fees start at NT$5,000 per day, it said, adding that the hotel has been approved by the city’s health department and its staff have been trained in disease prevention procedures.
The department said that all rooms have exterior windows, the hallways are equipped with ultraviolet disinfection lamps and the elevators are immediately disinfected after a person under quarantine has used it. Towels and bedding are cleaned with bleach for 15 minutes before being washed separately, it added.
In related news, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) yesterday said that 9,640 city residents are under home quarantine, the highest in the nation, and while there are now 188 rooms in the city’s disease prevention hotels, another 450 rooms would be made available soon.
Including the hotels that accommodate the families of people under quarantine, there are more than 2,000 rooms in the city, which is enough for residents to feel safe, he said, adding that the city government urges people under a home isolation or quarantine order to stay put and avoid going out.
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