Scotland to lift mandatory quarantine for travelers from Taiwan

ROC Central News Agency

07/09/2020 03:32 PM

Taipei, July 9 (CNA) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said Thursday that it welcomed a decision by the Scottish government to list Taiwan as one of the lower-risk destinations for COVID-19, which means that travelers arriving from Taiwan will be conditionally exempted from a 14-day quarantine requirement.

According to a press release posted on the Scottish government website Wednesday, passengers arriving in Scotland from 57 foreign destinations and 14 United Kingdom overseas territories will no longer have to quarantine, with effect from July 10, provided they had not been in a non-exempted country in the previous 14 days.

Among the Asian countries and territories listed were Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, Macau, South Korea and Vietnam, which, according to the website, have similar or lower levels of COVID-19 infection than Scotland.

At a regular press briefing Thursday, MOFA spokesperson Joanne Ou (歐江安) said Taiwan's inclusion on the list was recognition of its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

With Scotland's removal of the quarantine restriction, bilateral trade and investment between Taiwan and the U.K. can be expected to grow, Ou said, adding that the U.K. is Taiwan's third largest trading partner in Europe.

Scotland's policy on quarantine measures will be reviewed on July 20, according to the government website.

Taiwan's listing by Scotland as a low-risk COVID-19 destination followed a similar decision by the U.K. on July 4, which named 59 countries and regions and 14 British overseas territories that were being exempted from the quarantine requirement.

According to MOFA, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own border control policies.

(By Emerson Lim)

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