Health Minister Chen Shih-chung has detailed a planned loosening of restrictions designed to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Chen was speaking on Tuesday.
Chen said that if Taiwan does not record any new cases of domestic origin before June 7, food and drinks will be allowed back into movie theaters. He also said that restrictions on the number of people allowed at once in baseball stadiums will be lifted.
However, Chen also explained some of the restrictions the government plans to keep in place even after June 7. These include keeping diners at night markets and food courts at a safe distance from one another. He also said that standing tickets on Taiwan’s railways will only be reintroduced if policies are drawn up to ensure passengers’ safety.
Chen said that in the short-term, the government will not open up to or encourage international travel. He said that Taiwanese people who choose to travel abroad will have to go into at-home quarantine on their return.
Chen said that unless a vaccine or effective medicine is developed, the changes that COVID-19 has brought to everyday life are likely to stay in place for the next one to two years.