TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) is considering mandatory on-arrival COVID testing for passengers from South Korea, as that country has witnessed a surge in COVID cases over the past two weeks.

At a press briefing on Wednesday (March 16), CECC head Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) announced that of the 87 imported cases reported that day, 47 had tested positive upon arrival at the airport. Chen pointed out that 11 came from South Korea, representing the second-largest number after Vietnam, from which 30 cases had flown.

Given the sudden influx of cases from South Korea, the center is considering requiring passengers arriving from the country to undergo testing on arrival, he said. If the result of their test is negative, a passenger could then be transported to their arranged quarantine facility; if they test positive, however, they would be taken to a hospital for further testing and treatment.

He pointed out that the center will first monitor the positivity rate of arrivals from South Korea before making a decision on whether to require such on-arrival testing.

South Korea is seeing a dramatic surge in COVID-19 cases, with over 4 million reported from March 2-15. On Wednesday alone, the country reported 400,741 new daily cases amid a wave of Omicron infections, according to Channel News Asia.