The Ministry of Transportation and Communications yesterday said it would subsidize quarantine hotels and disease-prevention taxi fleets until the end of the year to help them transition to regular operation.
“Before returning to normal operations, operators of quarantine hotels must clean the facilities and make adjustments during the transitional period. A subsidy of NT$5,000 per room will be available to help them transition to regular operations as soon as possible,” Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) said.
Although inbound travelers are now able to return home by their own means, the ministry is to continue subsidizing disease-prevention taxis at airports until the end of this year, Wang said. Passengers will be charged by taxi meters, he said.
Taxis driving travelers to Keelung City, Taipei, New Taipei City and Hsinchu County are to receive subsidies equal to 30 percent of the fare per ride, while those driving to Taoyuan are to be subsidized the same amount as a regular taxi fare, Wang told reporters yesterday.
Meanwhile, the Tourism Bureau said that it plans to announce guidelines for travel agencies in handling inbound and outbound tour groups soon after the Central Epidemic Command Center approves them.
Wang told reporters that the guidelines would require inbound travelers to undertake a rapid test for COVID-19 every two days during their stay, even though the quarantine requirement is to be waived starting on Oct.13.
“Tour guides are responsible for checking if tourists have indeed taken the test. They must also report those who test positive for COVID-19 to local health authorities,” he said.
The guidelines would also require tourists joining overseas tour groups to have received three doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, Wang said, adding that purchasing medical insurance and travel safety insurance is highly recommended, but not mandatory.
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
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