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On the heels of a media report (see Focus Taiwan Taiwan confirms first case of COVID-19 patient with U.K. variant), their Ministry of Health has announced new restrictions on foreign nationals entering the island nation.
Dozens of countries have banned travel to and from the UK, but as the variant continues to turn up in other countries, these targeted travel bans are less likely to be effective.
Taiwan's decision is similar to those announced last weekend by Japan and Indonesia, who are also seeking to limit the entry of this supposedly more transmissible COVID variant (see PrePrint: Estimated Transmissibility & Severity Of UK SARS-CoV-2 Variant - CMMID).
While these measures may help slow the entry of the virus - which may give them more time to roll out a vaccine - given its rapid spread and the fact it may already be established in these countries, the odds of keeping it out over the long term are pretty low.
The (translated) statement from Taiwan's CDC follows.
The entry and quarantine regulations for non-nationals will be restricted from January 1 next year, and quarantine measures for incoming passengers will be strengthened from the 15th.
Release Date: 2020-12-30The Central Epidemic Command Center stated today (30) that, given that the international COVID-19 epidemic is still severe, in order to maintain domestic epidemic prevention safety and ensure the health of the people of the country, my country will start at midnight on January 1, 2021 (local flight time) , To restrict entry and quarantine regulations for persons of non-nationality, and to strengthen quarantine measures for inbound passengers from 0:00 on January 15 next year.
The command center stated that the restrictions on entry and quarantine of non-nationals are as follows:
(1) Non-nationals must meet the following conditions before they can enter:
- Foreigners: Hold a residence permit, diplomatic service, business performance, humanitarian considerations, spouses and minor children of Chinese nationals, and other special permits.
- People from Hong Kong and Macau: Hold a residence permit, perform business contracts, transfer within multinational companies, spouses and minor children of Chinese nationals, and project permits.
- People of land nationality: holding residence permit, spouse and minor children of Chinese nationals, and project permission.
(2) Suspend passengers transiting to Taiwan.(3) Short-term business people shorten the home quarantine project, except for those who have passed the review, the rest will resume home quarantine for 14 days.(4) Suspension of international medical care (except for special or emergency acquisition project permits).
The command center pointed out that the home quarantine measures for immigrants will also be strengthened. Starting from 0:00 on January 15 next year, in addition to the inspection report within 3 days before boarding in accordance with the original regulations, inbound passengers must also provide a quarantine residence certificate (to Centralized quarantine or travel and lodging for epidemic prevention is the principle. If you choose home quarantine, you must have one person and one household and must be cut off). Entry quarantine measures will be adjusted in a timely manner based on the epidemic situation and implementation status.
