TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Direct ferry links between Taiwan's outlying islands and China will resume for the Lunar New Year holidays, but during the first phase from Jan. 7 to Feb. 6, residents of Kinmen and Matsu will be the priority beneficiaries, the government announced Thursday (Dec. 22).

Ferry services from the two islands to the Chinese province of Fujian were halted in February 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic expanded. While opposition and local politicians have called for a resumption, especially to help Taiwanese business people planning to return home for the holidays, concern has been mounting about the rapid rise of COVID cases in China.

The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) told the regular weekly Cabinet meeting Thursday morning that ferries would sail again from Jan. 7, ahead of the Jan. 20-30 holidays, on the condition the pandemic was manageable, the Liberty Times reported.

With the approval of the Ministry of Transportation’s Maritime and Port Bureau, one ship a day would sail between Kinmen and Fujian, and two a week between Matsu and Fujian. Local governments would be in charge of registering passengers, who had to be residents of Kinmen and Matsu, including Chinese spouses, the report said.

There has been no decision yet on what would happen to the ferry links for an eventual second phase after Feb. 6, but health experts have called on the government to be cautious in the face of reportedly spiraling cases of COVID infections in China since restrictions were relaxed earlier this month.