CORONAVIRUS/Reopening borders quarantine-free might be possible in October: CECC

Taipei, Sept. 15 (CNA) The opening of Taiwan's borders with no mandatory quarantine required for arrivals could happen in October though not likely in the early part of the month, Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) spokesperson Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) said Thursday.

At the CECC's daily press briefing on Thursday, Chuang said opening Taiwan's borders under a "0+7" COVID-19 prevention regulation, whereby people entering Taiwan would not be subjected to quarantine but will be asked to observe seven days of self-conducted epidemic prevention measures, could be possible after the peak of the current COVID-19 outbreak in Taiwan has gone down significantly.

He said opening the borders would involve extensive analysis of the state of the pandemic, which means that the sooner infection rates are lowered significantly, the earlier borders can open.

Considering the current state of the outbreak in Taiwan, Chuang added, opening the borders in early October will be unlikely, but sometime later during that month might be possible.

Also, with fall coming up soon, the nation will also have to consider the possibility of dealing with both the COVID-19 outbreak and the upcoming flu should Taiwan decide to open its borders, he said.

Looking at the COVID-19 pandemic on a global scale, Chuang said the pandemic's spread is obviously slowing, echoing the World Health Organization's (WHO) recent announcement that the pandemic might be almost at an end.

Chuang said while the current global death toll was lower than that of March 2020, when the pandemic spread internationally, every country's situation was different regarding the disease.

He pointed out Africa as an example, stating that it was the only continent last week to not observe a significant drop in COVID-19 cases.

Moreover, Chuang said COVID-19 cases in Taiwan were also on the rise, though not as high as the large wave of infections earlier this year.

Chuang said Taiwan will continue to observe the WHO's latest announcements to decide on the proper time to reopen the borders.

Update

● Taiwan's updated COVID-19 protocols for arriving travelers from Oct. 13

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