At the Cabinet's weekly meeting Thursday, Premier Su Tseng-chang received a Ministry of Health and Welfare briefing on the gradual reopening of the nation's borders. To achieve this goal, the premier said, Taiwan has fully prepared itself on three fronts—broad vaccine coverage, sufficient rapid testing supplies, and a high usage rate of antiviral drugs. The number and rate of incoming travelers who tested positive for COVID-19 have continued to decline in the past month, and countries around the world have been progressively opening their borders. Taiwan's government is therefore adopting a gradual easing of border restrictions in two phases.
During the first phase beginning September 29, the weekly cap on arrivals will increase to 60,000 people, the "3+4" quarantine scheme (three days of isolation followed by four days of self-initiated epidemic prevention) will be loosened to apply the "one person per room" rule to the entire seven-day period, on-arrival saliva PCR testing at the airport will be canceled, and visa-exempt status will be restored to countries previously afforded that privilege. Based on evaluation of outcomes during the first phase, the government anticipates the second phase can begin around October 13, and will implement measures including a "0+7" quarantine scheme (seven days of self-initiated epidemic prevention), allowing travelers from countries without visa-exempt status, and canceling the ban on tour groups.
Our citizens have been fighting COVID-19 together for almost three years, the premier said, and Taiwan's pandemic containment efforts have consistently been better than other countries. The waves of various coronavirus variants have also consistently peaked later in Taiwan than elsewhere, which gave our nation sufficient time to prepare.
Premier Su hopes that everyone will once again stand together and continue the last leg of the fight against COVID-19 so that citizens can resume their normal lifestyles, Taiwan can open its borders and once again welcome international tourists after a long absence, and all sectors of the economy can thrive and prosper.