TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Health and Welfare Minister Hsueh Jui-yuan (薛瑞元) on Friday (Sept. 23) said that Taiwan's mask mandate will remain in place at least until winter in order to reduce the spread of the flu.
Prior to a session of the Legislative Yuan on Friday, Hsueh fielded questions from the media. He was asked whether the ban on tour groups will be lifted and Chinese tourists will be allowed entry when the "0+7" scheme goes into effect on Oct. 13?
Hsueh said the ban on group tours will be lifted during that second stage, but further discussion will be needed on whether to allow the entry of Chinese tourists.
Hsueh said that when "0+7" begins, the latter refers to seven days of self-health monitoring, which will mainly be managed by individuals and will not necessitate electronic fences. Regarding the shortening of the current "7+7" quarantine for confirmed COVID cases, Hsueh said that it is being looked at but he cannot reveal the details to be public yet. Even so, he said that some form of quarantine will still have to be required.
As for when the mask order would be lifted, he said that he recommends keeping it in place until winter because flu season is approaching, and wearing a mask can prevent transmission of the flu.