TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan's Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said on Wednesday (Aug. 10) it will end its pre-flight polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test requirement for all inbound passengers next week.

During a press conference, CECC head Victor Wang (王必勝) announced Taiwan will end the requirement for all arriving passengers to submit proof of a negative PCR test taken 48 hours before boarding a flight to Taiwan, effective Aug. 15. Previously, the requirement had been discontinued for returning Taiwan citizens, residents, and connecting passengers on July 14.

Wang said this meant the pre-entry PCR requirement still applied to non-resident foreigners, who account for 10% of arriving passengers. He explained that the requirement for this group has been suspended because it is often difficult for would-be visitors in foreign countries to obtain a PCR test.

He added that the 48-hour time limit also presented challenges when passengers were on long flights with many transfers. Therefore, Wang said the decision was made to put an end to the regulation.

Nevertheless, Wang emphasized that the on-arrival PCR test, three days of quarantine, and four days of self-health management are still mandatory. He reasoned that with these epidemic prevention measures still in place, it mitigates the risks of transmission having discontinued the pre-arrival COVID test rule.

According to a CECC press release, people who test positive for COVID while overseas are barred from flying to Taiwan for seven days starting the day they were tested. The center reminded the public that although the pandemic appears to be ebbing slightly, the situation continues to change and passengers are urged to observe quarantine and epidemic prevention measures after arriving in Taiwan.

The CECC stated that it will continue to monitor the pandemic situation. Due to the threat of new variants, the center warned that it cannot rule out restarting the pre-entry PCR test rule if new variants are deemed to pose a major threat to the country.