Starting tomorrow, all travelers arriving from the Philippines must undergo COVID-19 testing at the airport, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday, as it reported three imported cases from the country.
After the tests, arrivals with symptoms should await their results at a government quarantine facility, while those without symptoms can self-isolate at home or at a quarantine hotel for the mandatory 14-day period, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, told a news briefing in Taipei.
Taiwanese and holders of an Alien Resident Certificate (ARC) are currently only required to undergo home isolation for 14 days after entering the nation, he said.
Photo: Reuters
Foreign visitors without an ARC are required to present a report showing a negative test result obtained three days before their transit flight or entry into Taiwan, he added.
The center implemented the new policy after it confirmed six cases from the Philippines this month and was alerted by the Philippines’ reported average of 1,600 new cases per day over the past two weeks, he said.
Testing for COVID-19 in the Philippines has increased from 2,000 to 25,000 people per day, with 12 percent testing positive, he said, adding that Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore have also reported an increasing number of cases among tourists from the Philippines.
The new policy is the center’s model for managing tourists arriving from high-risk countries, Chen said, when asked if the policy would apply to arrivals from other countries.
The center would tighten border controls for countries that are reporting an increasing number of COVID-19 cases and whose arrivals test positive, he added.
From July 1 until Wednesday, 696 people arrived from the Philippines, including six confirmed cases, said Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥), the CECC’s spokesman.
The CECC yesterday reported three cases imported from the Philippines, bringing the nation’s total number of confirmed cases to 458.
Case No. 456, a Filipino in his 50s with a Taiwanese wife, returned to Taiwan on Monday after working in the Philippines since November last year, Chuang said.
Case No. 457, a Filipino in his 30s with an ARC, returned on Monday last week after visiting relatives in the Philippines since March, he said.
Case No. 458, a Taiwanese woman in her 30s, returned on Wednesday after working in the Philippines since January, he said.
All three showed symptoms, including a cough, a headache, fever, abnormal changes of smell and taste, or diarrhea, the CECC said.
Health authorities have identified 74 people who had contact with the patients — 49 need to self-isolate at home, while 25 need to do self-health management, it said.
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