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Taiwan to ease domestic travel rules as COVID numbers stabilize

ROC Central News Agency

07/23/2021 09:35 PM

Taipei, July 23 (CNA) Taiwan will loosen its travel restrictions to allow larger domestic tour groups, when the nationwide COVID-19 alert is lowered to Level 2 on July 27, the Tourism Bureau said Friday.

Starting next Tuesday, the maximum number of people allowed in a domestic tour group will be increased from nine to 50, but special seating arrangements will be required on tour vehicles to ensure social distancing, according to the bureau.

For instance, large tour buses will be permitted to carry no more than 20 people, the bureau said, adding that eating and the use of microphones for singing will not be allowed inside the vehicles.

Meanwhile, visitor capacity at national scenic areas and amusement parks will be increased from 40 percent to 50 percent, when the COVID-19 alert is lowered from Level 3 to Level 2 in Taiwan's four-tier system, the bureau said.

The parks will no longer need to reduce opening hours or to require advance visitor bookings, the bureau said.

Dining regulations at national recreational areas will be in line with the Level 2 alert regulations announced by the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) on Friday, according to the bureau.

It means that dine-in services at restaurants will be permitted, on condition that plastic shields are erected between tables, and customers observe social distancing, the bureau said.

It said beaches can also reopen, but activities such as swimming will still be prohibited, because the outdoor mask rule cannot be imposed for swimmers.

Exceptions will be made for scuba divers, as they wear diving gear, including masks, and are hooked up to oxygen tanks, according to the CECC.

Nonetheless, scuba divers should wear outdoor masks and practice social distancing before and after their dives, according to the CECC.

The CECC decided Friday to lower the national COVID-19 alert to Level 2 with effect from July 27, saying that the curve in Taiwan has gradually flattened since a spike in domestic infections began in mid-May.

The number of new domestically transmitted cases in Taiwan has remained under 40 per day since July 4, according to the CECC.

(By Yu Hsiao-han and Lee Hsin-Yin)

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