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.
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