Coronavirus: Taiwan to PCR test all mainland China arrivals at airports, outlying ferry piers from New Year’s Day

PCR test rule applies to all mainland arrivals at Taiwan’s four airports or ferry piers on Quemoy and Matsu islands, epidemic command centre says
Taiwan follows Japan in announcing pandemic restrictions after a surge in Covid-19 cases in mainland China, which opens its borders on January 8

Coronavirus China

Lawrence Chungin Taipei

Published: 9:21pm, 28 Dec 2022

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Taiwan will test all arrivals from mainland China for Covid-19 starting January 1, becoming the second destination after Japan to do so after Beijing lifted its strict zero-Covid policy earlier this month.

The tightening of entry rules comes as surging coronavirus cases in the mainland spark concerns over a new spike being triggered in Taiwan.

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As of New Year’s Day on Sunday, all passengers from mainland China will be required to take PCR tests upon arrival at the Taiwan’s four international airports, the island’s health officials said.

The same will apply to the piers at the Taiwan-controlled offshore islets of Matsu and Quemoy, also known as Kinmen.

“Passengers taking flights from China are subject to this special programme aimed at strengthening Covid-19 pandemic control in Taiwan,” said Wang Pi-sheng, head of the island’s Central Epidemic Command Centre.

Those landing at Taoyuan International Airport would be asked to take the tests “at a specially assigned zone in Terminal 2”, he added, without elaborating what the procedure would be at the other smaller airports.

Taoyuan International near Taipei is the largest of Taiwan’s four airports. The others are Taipei Songshan, Kaohsiung International and Taichung International.

Quemoy and Matsu residents returning to the islets for the Lunar New Year via temporarily reopened ferry links with the mainland cities of Xiamen and Mawei will also be tested on arrival.

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Wang said the restrictions will initially be in place for a month, taking into consideration that it is the busiest travel season of the year. An influx of mainland arrivals is expected during the Lunar New Year holiday, a time for family reunions, which begins on January 21 this time.

“Because there is a new outbreak in China and in the face of unclear information … we need to strengthen our control of the pandemic as there is a big chance of the appearance of new Covid virus variants,” he said.

Wang said at least 30,000 mainland-based Taiwanese were expected to return to the island for the Lunar New Year, making restrictions imperative to safeguard public health and prevent any new Covid-19 variants from spreading in Taiwan.

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“Those testing positive will be required to follow the ‘5+n’ quarantine rule,” he said, referring to a system of having confirmed Covid-19 patients quarantine at home for five days, with a return to usual activities allowed after that if they test negative.

Local residents should also avoid crowded places and keep their masks on where possible during the Lunar New Year festivities, Wang said.

The new rules will apply to mainland-based Taiwanese and their Chinese spouses; mainland Chinese on job assignments or business contracts in Taiwan, or visiting for family, funeral and other humanitarian reasons; as well as mainland students studying there.

Foreigners flying in directly from the mainland will also be tested.

Virus sequencing will be carried out on positive cases to track new variants of the coronavirus, the epidemic command centre said in a statement.

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After almost two years of strict arrival and quarantine measures, Taiwan reopened its borders in October once the pandemic eased.

Since then, all travellers – barring tourists from mainland China – have been allowed to visit without undergoing PCR or rapid antigen tests at the airports.

Quarantine at homes or hotels is also not necessary unless they test positive.

Taiwan’s decision to test arrivals from the mainland comes two days after Beijing announced it would reopen all borders on January 8 and end Covid-19 quarantine measures.

Taiwanese premier Su Tseng-chang has asked the epidemic command centre to devise a plan to deal with a possible spike in cases on the island after the mainland borders reopen.

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“The command centre must study countermeasures already taken by other countries over [China’s reopening],” Su told a specially convened meeting in Taipei on Wednesday.

His reference was to Japan, which announced the day before that all travellers from the mainland would have to undergo Covid-19 tests on arrival from Friday.

Japan will also allow direct flights from mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau to only land at four airports – Narita and Haneda in Tokyo, Kansai in Osaka and Chubu in Nagoya. It has also requested Japanese airlines not to increase such flights.

Taiwan left Hong Kong and Macau out of its new on-arrival PCR test rule.

Taiwan reported more than 28,100 new coronavirus cases and 25 deaths on Wednesday. The new infections represented a 47 per cent increase from seven days ago, according to the epidemic command centre.