Taiwan reported 42,212 new local confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 59 deaths yesterday, a 6.8% drop from last Thursday. The Central Epidemic Command Center announced that it will relax border control in two phases. The first phase of relaxation measures next Thursday (29th of this month) includes the full resumption of visa-free entry, the increase of the maximum number of entries per week to 60,000, and the cancellation of the same. For the entry nucleic acid test, 4 quick test kits will be sent instead. One quick test will be sent on the first or next day of entry and the results will be registered in the relevant system. If the epidemic situation continues to be controlled and stable, the fastest entry quarantine will be relaxed from “3+4” to “0+7” on the 13th of next month, that is, home quarantine will be cancelled, and the maximum number of people entering the country will be raised to 15 per week. 10,000 person-times, open entry for tour groups and independent travel, non-visa-free people can also go to Taiwan in the name of sightseeing; they have no symptoms when they enter, and they can take public transportation.
However, people from the mainland and Hong Kong and Macao have other arrangements. The Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday that from next Thursday, people from Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macao will be open to applications for visiting relatives, going to funerals and engaging in business activities in Taiwan. That is to say, Hong Kong people still need to wait patiently if they want to “return to the countryside”, but I believe this day is not far away.
As for the entry guidelines for tour groups and independent travel, the Central Epidemic Epidemic Command Center stated that it will discuss the details with the Tourism Bureau of the Ministry of Communications. The entry conditions for tourists previously proposed by the Ministry of Transportation include having received 3 doses of the new crown vaccine.
Originally published on AM730 https://www.am730.com.hk/China/Taiwan to open free travel in the middle of next month at the earliest – Mainland, Hong Kong and Macau temporarily not benefited/339763?utm_source=yahoorss&utm_medium=referral