Military conscripts are to be tested for COVID-19 before reporting for duty, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said on Thursday.
Men in Taiwan over the age of 18 must undergo four months of mandatory military training.
No new conscripts have reported for duty since June, after Taiwan experienced an outbreak of COVID-19 in May.
As daily case counts have fallen to single digits, conscripts are to begin reporting for duty this month, said Deputy Minister of the Interior Chen Tsung-yen (陳宗彥), who is also the CECC’s deputy head.
To prevent COVID-19 transmission, new conscripts are to take an antibody test within three days before reporting fof duty, Chen said.
They can undergo testing free of charge by bringing their conscription notice and National Health Insurance card to a designated testing site or a hospital approved by the CECC, he said.
The conscripts will have to show proof of a negative test result before they can begin their training, he said.
Substitute service conscripts would be given COVID-19 tests after arriving at Taichung’s Chenggong Ling (成功嶺) military training camp, he said.
A Presidential Office spokesperson said on Aug. 24 that President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) had instructed the Ministry of National Defense and the CECC to come up with a vaccination plan for new conscripts, although no details have been announced.
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