Taiwan: What COVID? Come on In!

Taiwan lifted all its COVID-19 entry restrictions on Thursday, allowing tourists unfettered access to the self-ruled island after more than 2 1/2 years of border controls. Hong Kong and Taiwan, together with mainland China, required most visitors to complete a mandatory quarantine period throughout the pandemic, even as most countries reopened their borders to tourists. Visitors are no longer required to quarantine upon entry, or take any PCR tests, the AP reports. Instead, they will need to monitor their health for a week after arriving, and obtain a negative result on a rapid antigen test the day they arrive. If people want to go out during the weeklong monitoring period, they need a negative test from either that day or the day before.

There are also no longer any restrictions on certain nationalities being allowed to enter Taiwan. Dozens of visitors from Thailand were among the first to arrive under the new rules at Taiwan’s Taoyuan International Airport, which serves the capital, Taipei, on a Tiger Air flight that landed shortly after midnight. Valaisurang Bhaedhayajibh, a 53-year-old business development director of a design firm, called the new rules convenient. "We don’t have to do the test before coming here, and also after arriving," he said. "We are still required to do the self-test every two days, and everything has been provided" by Taiwanese authorities, including the rapid testing kits.

With both Hong Kong and Taiwan getting rid of restrictions and welcoming back tourists, mainland China remains one of the few places in the world adamant in keeping borders closed and sticking to a "zero-COVID" strategy to stamp out the virus. Hong Kong ended its mandatory quarantine policy for inbound travelers late last month, requiring just a three-day self-monitoring period. In mainland China, cities imposed fresh lockdowns and travel restrictions this week after the number of new daily COVID-19 cases tripled ahead of a major Communist Party meeting in Beijing next week, reports the AP. (More Taiwan stories.)