Taiwan’s first local cases of the COVID-19 Omicron variant were part of a cluster in a quarantine hotel. To prevent that kind of outbreak from happening again, authorities are now hoping to detect COVID-positive passengers before they go into isolation.
Health Minister Chen Shih-chung takes a tour through Taiwan’s biggest airport. He’s here on important business, inspecting the site before new COVID-19 testing measures come into force.
Starting Tuesday, all passengers arriving in Taiwan on long-haul flights will have to wait at the airport for the result of their PCR spit test. They will be allowed to travel to their quarantine location only once they receive a negative test result. Health official Victor Wang says authorities hope to provide test results to passengers within one hour of testing.
Anyone who tests positive will immediately be taken to hospital.
The new rules apply to passengers arriving from the United States, Europe, the Middle East, New Zealand and Australia.
Speaking at Taoyuan International Airport on Monday, Health Minister Chen Shih-chung said the new testing rules will make Taiwan’s COVID-19 border regimen even more secure. Chen thanked the Taoyuan International Airport Corporation for its help organizing the new testing regime.
Chen says the unpredictable incubation period of COVID-19 means health authorities cannot be sure of detecting every single infection. However, Chen says asking long-haul passengers to wait for a result will catch a large proportion of previously undetected cases and greatly reduce the risk to Taiwanese society.