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Taiwan to further ease COVID-19 regulations Nov. 7

ROC Central News Agency

10/24/2022 09:24 PM

Taipei, Oct. 24 (CNA) Taiwan will loosen its current COVID-19 policies on Nov. 7, including some vaccine and rapid test requirements, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said Monday, pointing out that new domestic cases have remained below 40,000 for five consecutive days.

The requirement for business places and other establishments to check the temperature of people entering the premises will also be removed, CECC head Victor Wang (王必勝) said at press briefing at which there were no perspex desk partitions for the first time in two years.

Wang said the CECC is revoking the temperature check rule, because not everyone who becomes infected with COVID-19 virus develops a fever. Companies, however, will be free to decide if they want to retain that measure, he added.

Also starting Nov. 7, people participating in group tours and religious activities such as processions will no longer be required to take a COVID-19 rapid test and show proof of three shots of a vaccine against the disease, Wang said.

The three-shot vaccine mandate will also be lifted for the staff and clients of fitness and recreation centers, karaoke clubs, massage parlors, pubs, hostess clubs, and other entertainment and leisure businesses, he said.

In the case of people at those establishments who are not fully vaccinated, they will no longer have to take a rapid test every three days, as is currently required, Wang said.

Another revision will be for the protocols for close contacts of COVID-19 patients, he said, referring to the "3+4" policy that requires such contacts to conduct home isolation for three days and self-initiated disease prevention for another four days if they have not taken three shots of a COVID-19 vaccine.

When the new measures take effect on Nov. 7, close contacts will only have to observe seven days of self-initiated epidemic prevention, Wang said, referring to it as a "0+7" policy.

COVID-19 patients, meanwhile, will be allowed to resume their normal activities once they obtain a negative test result after seven days of quarantine, and they will not have to observe self-initiated epidemic prevention measures for another seven days, as is currently required, he said.

According to Wang, the number of new domestic COVID-19 cases in Taiwan has not moved past 40,000 since Oct. 20.

(By Chen Chieh-ling, Yu Hsiao-han and James Lo)

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