TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) on Wednesday (Jan. 4) announced nearly 200 passengers arriving from China on Monday (Jan. 2) tested positive for COVID.
Amid a massive spike in COVID cases in China, the CECC on Dec. 28 announced that starting on Jan. 1, passengers from China would have to go undergo saliva PCR tests upon arrival in Taiwan.
China is slated to discontinue its mandatory quarantine for arrivals on Jan. 8 and has removed restrictions on its citizens traveling abroad as a tremendous surge in COVID cases impacts the country. As for Taiwan, it is continuing to ban the entry of Chinese tourists.
CECC spokesman Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) on Wednesday said a total of 1,001 people entered Taiwan from China on Jan. 2 and 199 tested positive for the virus, equating to a positivity rate of 19.9%. Of the 795 passengers from China who landed at the Taoyuan Airport, 170 tested positive, while out of the 206 passengers from China who landed at the Songshan Airport, 29 tested positive.
However, this was a decline from the 25% positivity rate seen on Jan. 1. Chuang said that over the past two days, passengers have mainly been arriving from Shanghai, Chengdu, and Xiamen, with relatively few originating from Beijing, where infections are particularly high.
He said that the rates of infection in the different cities could have an impact on the positivity rates of passengers arriving in Taiwan. He estimated that the overall positivity rate for passengers from China should range between 19% and 25%.
Chuang said that passengers arriving from China are advised to return to their residences as soon as possible to commence seven days of self-health monitoring, during which time they should periodically take rapid antigen tests. He said that those who test positive for the virus should undergo 5+n home quarantine and self-health monitoring, with samples to be sent to the Centers for Disease Control for genetic sequencing.
In addition to being subjected to on-arrival saliva PRC test, from Jan. 6-31, passengers departing from China and entering Taiwan via Hong Kong or Macau must provide proof of a negative PCR test taken 48 hours before boarding their flight or a negative result from a rapid antigen test taken 24 hours in advance.