Taiwan has lifted a ban on international cruises that was introduced in February 2020 to prevent the spread of COVID-19 into the country, the Maritime and Port Bureau said on Monday.
The ban was lifted, effective on Monday, because Taiwan had ended mandatory quarantine for all overseas arrivals on Oct. 13, and cruises have gradually returned around the world, the bureau said.
Taiwan is looking forward to a swift resumption of international cruise services, which would help the industry resume the growth it was seeking to develop before the COVID-19 pandemic began, the statement said.
Photo courtesy of Princess Cruises
Earlier on Monday, the Central Epidemic Command Center approved new protocols for cruises drafted by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, and they have been sent to cruise operators, the bureau said.
The new protocols were drafted based on similar rules introduced by the EU, the US and Australia, and would require cruise passengers to present a negative rapid COVID-19 test taken on the day of arrival in Taiwan or the previous day, the bureau said.
However, passengers who display COVID-19 symptoms on the day of arrival would have to produce another negative rapid test result before they are allowed entry.
Children younger than two are exempt from the rapid test requirement, the bureau said.
There are also vaccination and insurance recommendations.
All passengers are advised to receive the most recent COVID-19 vaccine booster dose recommended for them at least 14 days before they begin a cruise, and visitors to Taiwan are advised to buy a travel insurance plan that covers overseas medical care, the bureau said.
Crewmembers working on cruise ships based in Taiwan are required to have received a booster shot at least 14 days before they start working on a vessel, and all cruise liners have to submit a health declaration form before arriving at a port in Taiwan.
Passengers with COVID-19 will have to quarantine on board the vessel, while those who develop a severe infection would be taken to a hospital, it said.
Cruise ships will have to comply with instructions from Taiwanese authorities if cluster infections are found on board.
Among the potential responses are adopting tighter disease prevention rules, limiting onshore visits by passengers and changing the ship’s course, the bureau said.
The ban was introduced on Feb. 6, 2020, after a Taiwanese woman traveling on the Diamond Princess cruise liner was confirmed to be one of the 10 passengers infected with COVID-19 — the second wave of infections on the ship when it arrived in Japan on a round-trip cruise that included a 10-hour stop in the Port of Keelung on Jan. 31.
International cruise ships have been put into service in Taiwan during the pandemic, but they have been used until now for domestic cruise trips around Taiwan proper or to the outlying islands of Kinmen, Penghu and Matsu.
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
RSS