The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday said that after border controls are eased, it would screen all foreign visitors to Taiwan for COVID-19 upon arrival and permit them entry only if they test negative in a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test.
Visitors would also be required to receive follow-up testing and perform self-health management, based on their activities in the nation, said Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center.
A mass screening of all foreign visitors at the airport would not be sufficient, as some confirmed cases did not test positive until they were already under home quarantine, he added.
Photo: Liberty Times file photograph
The center would not implement mass screening on all returning Taiwanese because the government is obligated to treat infected citizens, but it is not obliged to treat foreign visitors, and carelessly allowing infected people to enter might cause a local outbreak, he said.
In related news, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications yesterday said that it is considering allowing Taiwan’s international airlines to offer cargo services to and from six cities in China — Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Chongqing, Qingdao, Ningbo and Changsha — as part of an effort to aid the airline industry, which has been significantly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
To contain the coronavirus outbreak, the government had limited cross-strait flights to four Chinese cities — Beijing, Xiamen, Chengdu and Shanghai, home to Hongqiao International Airport, which is closed to international flights.
Ministry officials said that many Chinese cities have ended lockdowns, which have consequently increased demand for goods, but they chose these six cities as they have higher cargo demands than others.
As the nation’s passenger flight service is expected to recover slowly and the government still needs to control the spread of the virus, ministry officials said it hoped that the CECC would allow carriers to offer cargo service to reduce their financial losses.
On the proposal of allowing airlines to increase cross-strait cargo flights, Chen last month said that he “had no reason to object if it is done with proper planning.”
Deputy Minister of the Interior Chen Tsung-yen (陳宗彥), who is deputy head of the center, on May 24 said that the CECC would consider opening cargo flights to more Chinese cities using passenger aircraft, but no airline had yet submitted such a request.
China Airlines Ltd (CAL, 華航) said it would first apply for cargo services in Guangzhou and Shenzhen once it secures permission to do so.
EVA Airlines (EVA, 長榮航空) said it is interested in all cities with high demand for goods, adding that it has submitted requests to the Civil Aeronautics Administration.
CAL’s revenue from cargo services in April reached NT$7.395 billion (US$248 million), whereas revenue from passenger flight service was only NT$400 million.
EVA’s revenue in April also topped NT$4.202 billion, but passenger flight revenue was NT$448 million.
Dimerco Express Group (中菲行國際物流), which offers global freight-forwarding and logistics services, saw consolidated revenue in April rise by 59.46 percent to NT$348 million.
In other news, Star Cruises said it plans to offer island-hopping tours to outlying islands, including Kinmen, Penghu and Lienchiang counties, once it receives government approval.
The cruise ship, Explorer Dream, can accommodate 3,600 passengers, but it would only take 1,000 on the tour, it said.
The tour would last two to four days, the company said, adding that it would observe the Centers for Disease Control’s disease prevention guidelines.
Additional reporting by Lee I-chia
The CIA has a message for Chinese government officials worried about their place in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) government: Come work with us. The agency released two Mandarin-language videos on social media on Thursday inviting disgruntled officials to contact the CIA. The recruitment videos posted on YouTube and X racked up more than 5 million views combined in their first day. The outreach comes as CIA Director John Ratcliffe has vowed to boost the agency’s use of intelligence from human sources and its focus on China, which has recently targeted US officials with its own espionage operations. The videos are “aimed at
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
SHIFT: Taiwan’s better-than-expected first-quarter GDP and signs of weakness in the US have driven global capital back to emerging markets, the central bank head said The central bank yesterday blamed market speculation for the steep rise in the local currency, and urged exporters and financial institutions to stay calm and stop panic sell-offs to avoid hurting their own profitability. The nation’s top monetary policymaker said that it would step in, if necessary, to maintain order and stability in the foreign exchange market. The remarks came as the NT dollar yesterday closed up NT$0.919 to NT$30.145 against the US dollar in Taipei trading, after rising as high as NT$29.59 in intraday trading. The local currency has surged 5.85 percent against the greenback over the past two sessions, central
US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo on Friday expressed concern over the rate at which China is diversifying its military exercises, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Saturday. “The rates of change on the depth and breadth of their exercises is the one non-linear effect that I’ve seen in the last year that wakes me up at night or keeps me up at night,” Paparo was quoted by FT as saying while attending the annual Sedona Forum at the McCain Institute in Arizona. Paparo also expressed concern over the speed with which China was expanding its military. While the US
RSS