Taiwan to test arrivals from China for Covid from Jan 1
TAIWAN will test arrivals from China for Covid-19 from Jan 1 in response to a surge in cases there, the government said on Wednesday (Dec 28). The move sees Taiwan joining other countries in stepping up controls on people coming from China.
Taiwan’s Central Epidemic Command Centre said that all passengers arriving by direct flights from China, as well as by boat at two offshore islands, will have to take PCR tests upon arrival.
It added that the government will track new variants of the coronavirus by conducting virus sequencing for those who arrive from China and test positive for the disease.
The measures, which will run until the end of January, do not apply to those arriving from Hong Kong or Macau.
Those who test positive will be able to isolate at home, the centre added.
The majority of those affected by the new rule will be Taiwanese citizens who live and work in China, as well as their Chinese spouses and children. Beijing banned Chinese tourists from visiting Taiwan in 2019.
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Many Taiwanese who live in China traditionally return to the island for the Chinese New Year holiday, which falls next month.
In an abrupt change of policy, China this month began dismantling its regime of Covid lockdowns – the strictest in the world – and extensive testing, putting its battered economy on course for a complete reopening next year.
The lifting of restrictions, which came after widespread protests against them, has resulted in Covid-19 spreading largely unchecked in the nation. It is likely infecting millions of people a day, according to some international health experts.
After effectively shutting its borders to visitors to control the pandemic and enforcing strict quarantines for all arrivals for almost two years, Taiwan reopened to the world in October and ended mandatory isolation. REUTERS
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