A requirement that Taiwanese and residents should provide a negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test for COVID-19 to enter Taiwan is to end on Thursday next week, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday as it increased the cap for inbound travelers to 40,000 people per week.
“Although the BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron subvariants [of SARS-CoV-2] are highly contagious, they do not lead to a surge in the rate of severe symptoms,” said Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center. “As such, restrictions on inbound travelers should be eased.”
The purpose of requiring a negative PCR
As the Nov. 26 local elections draw nearer, speculation about who would be the next Taipei mayor is heating up. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) has thrown his hat into the ring, while his likely rivals, Taipei Deputy Mayor Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) of the People First Party and Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), have yet to declare their candidacy. Rumors are also rife that Huang might run as an independent or as the representative of the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP).
A host of media outlets have been conducting
The government might consider dropping a negative COVID-19 test result requirement for travelers from low-risk countries, but lifting the quarantine requirement for inbound travelers is still risky, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday.
The CECC on Monday said it does not plan to further loosen border controls soon.
National Taiwan University Children’s Hospital superintendent Huang Li-min (黃立民) said the “3+4” quarantine policy separates inbound travelers from family members for only three days, which is not enough to block the spread of the virus, so the government might consider changing it to a “0+7” policy.
He also said that it might
Taipei, July 5 (CNA) Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) on Tuesday requested further information from New Taipei City Government as the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) investigates an alleged delay in ambulance response time that has been linked to the death of a 2-year-old toddler from COVID-19 on April 19.
Taipei, July 2 (CNA) Taiwan is considering lifting preflight polymerase chain reaction (PCR) COVID-19 testing requirements for arrivals from low-risk countries, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said Tuesday.