People arriving in Taiwan are required to have six COVID-19 tests within the first 22 days of their arrival, as part of new COVID-19 prevention measures adopted in response to a cluster infection at a quarantine hotel, authorities said on Thursday.
The requirement applies to all arrivals between Tuesday and Feb. 14, regardless of their vaccination status or choice of quarantine plan, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said.
Under the previous regulations, arrivals were required to take only three or four COVID-19 tests after entering the country, but that has changed amid a cluster infection of four cases at a quarantine hotel in Taoyuan and the buildup to the Lunar New Year holiday, the center said.
Photo courtesy of the Kaohsiung Tourism Bureau
Over the next two months, people who quarantine for the full 14 days at a hotel would receive a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test on the first and last day, as well as four rapid tests administered over their first 22 days in Taiwan, the CECC said.
Travelers who opt to undergo the “10+4” or “7+7” quarantine schemes, which allows them to spend their first 10 or seven days at a hotel or government facility and complete their quarantine at home, would take three PCR tests — upon arrival, on their last day at the hotel or government facility, and on the last two days of the 14-day period, the CECC said.
They must also take three rapid tests during their first 22 days in Taiwan, it said, adding that the government would cover the cost of all the tests.
Under the “7+7” plan all members of the household in which the person is quarantining for the final seven days would be required to take two self-paid rapid COVID-19 tests, the CECC said.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
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