Image: Reuters Berita 24 English - The U.S. and Canada will be able to send visitors to Taiwan without a visa again starting next week, the ...
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| Image: Reuters |
Berita 24 English - The U.S. and Canada will be able to send visitors to Taiwan without a visa again starting next week, the government said on Monday. This is part of Taiwan's plan to ease restrictions put in place to stop the spread of COVID-19.
Taiwan has kept its entry and quarantine rules even though most of the rest of Asia has eased or gotten rid of them. However, in June, it cut the number of days that new arrivals had to stay in isolation from seven to three.
Since the beginning of the year, the more contagious Omicron variant has spread to more than 5.3 million people in Taiwan. But because more than 99% of them have no symptoms or only mild ones, the government has loosened the rules instead of tightening them. This is called the "new Taiwan model."
The Central Epidemic Command Center in Taiwan said that people from the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Europe, and countries with diplomatic ties would be able to visit Taiwan without a visa starting on Monday.
The decision was made because most countries around the world have already reopened their borders and gone back to the measures they had in place before the pandemic. Also, there is a need to find a balance between preventing epidemics, economic and social activities, and international exchanges.
Victor Wang, the head of the command centre, told reporters that the current limits of 50,000 arrivals a week and a three-day quarantine would stay in place for now.
Since most people in Taiwan have been vaccinated, they no longer have to get a negative PCR test before leaving the country.
During the pandemic, Taiwanese citizens and foreign residents have never been told they couldn't leave and then come back. However, they have had to stay at home or in hotels to avoid spreading the disease.
Before the pandemic, Taiwan was a popular place for Asian tourists, especially those from Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia.
