In their latest daily news bulletin, Taiwan’s Center for Disease Control has released details of new travel regulations for people entering the country. From December 1 to February 28, all people flying to Taiwan, including those only transiting, must present a negative PCR test for COVID-19 (max. three days old) prior to boarding. This includes Taiwanese nationals returning home, not just foreign entrants. This comes as a result of large increases in imported cases entering Taiwan recently as the rest of the world continues to struggle with curbing the spread of the virus. Here is the full CDC press release in Chinese for more information.
Recent entrants to the country from Indonesia and Myanmar tested positive for COVID-19 this week, with one of them being diagnosed as positive for a second time. Having caught the virus in September, the man in his 30s arrived in Taiwan on November 8 and initially tested negative before receiving a positive result after developing symptoms while in quarantine. His test was considered a weak positive, meaning he may have been carrying some of his original bout of the virus and didn’t in fact contract COVID for a second time, according to Focus Taiwan.
As we head into late November, Taiwan has confirmed 607 cases of the virus with seven resulting deaths. There hasn’t been a domestically spread infection since April 12. As a result of Taiwan’s control of the virus, last Saturday (Nov 14), EDM music festival Ultra Taiwan took place at Taipei’s Dajie Riverside Park at full capacity, headlined by Swedish house DJ Alesso. (See also: Coronavirus Update: Taiwan Passes 200 Days Without a Local Case, Imported Cases Still Rise)
Part of Ultra’s ‘Road to Ultra’ series of worldwide one-day music festivals, the event in Taiwan was not without controversy, however, as four visiting acts were each fined NT$10,000 for breaking quarantine rules at their hotel. “According to a Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) spokesman, the four performers slipped out of their separate rooms at a quarantine facility to meet and rehearse for the show in a common area,” reported NME.
This large-scale event follows Taiwan’s 2020 LGBTQ Pride celebrations that took place on October 31 and saw around 100,000 people march the parade route starting at Taipei City Hall. (Read also: Taiwan LGBT Pride Events: Our Top Picks for 2020)
(cover photo: Mufid Majnun)
