Taipei – Taiwan may begin permitting quarantine-free entrance to travelers from countries with similar rates of COVID-19 infection as early as July, according to Health Minister Chen Shih-Chung.
If the seven-day or 14-day infection rates on in both Taiwan and country which are arriving “there can be (quarantine-) free travel,” Chen stated at a parliamentary hearing when asked if present entrance requirements might be loosened by the start of summer vacation in July by legislator Tsai Pi-ru ().
However, when questioned whether Taiwan would gradually ease its border restrictions by July, Chen replied, “yes.”
“The pandemic is subsiding in many areas of the world, but the situation in Taiwan is worsening. By July, we might be in a situation comparable to other countries “He stated.
When that moment comes, Chen added, Taiwan would determine entrance requirements depending on a country’s COVID-19 condition for the previous seven or 14 days, keeping limitations in place for high-risk places.
Places with a mild COVID-19 scenario “may not be as eager on bringing in Taiwanese vacationers,” Chen added. “However, we should have no trouble welcoming visitors from those nations.”
Chen, speaking at the Central Epidemic Command Center’s (CECC) regular news briefing on Sunday, projected that Taiwan might witness an overall infection rate of 15-16 percent, similar to Hong Kong or New Zealand, with over 3 million confirmed cases.
Taiwan reduced the quarantine time for arriving passengers and the isolation period for contacts of COVID-19 patients from 14 to 10 days on March 7, and also started allowing persons to quarantine at home if they live alone or are elderly.