- Pope criticises Argentina's crackdown on protesters
- Court limits screenings of videos in France mass rape case
- Gurbaz century takes Afghanistan to 311-4 in 2nd ODI
- Central banks face 'difficult balancing act': IMF chief
- McLaren's Norris sets Singapore pace as struggling Verstappen 15th
- Guardiola tells players to lead change over workload fears
- Paris Olympics sports equipment moves to new homes
- 'Happy' Kinghorn relishing life at Toulouse
- Norris sets Singapore pace as Verstappen only 15th
- 8 dead in Israeli strike, source says Hezbollah commander killed
- Germany to bid to host women's Euro 2029
- Portugal brings deadly forest fires under control
- Postecoglou defends Solanke after slow start to Spurs career
- US nuclear plant Three Mile Island to reopen to power Microsoft
- Arteta urges Arsenal to take next step in Man City showdown
- Stock markets fall after Fed-fuelled rally
- Top Hezbollah commander 'killed' in Israel strike
- Poland charges Russian over attack on Navalny ally: prosecutors
- Man City have rest 'advantage' in Arsenal showdown: Guardiola
- Maresca has 'no doubt' in Jackson as Chelsea's number nine
- EU chief announces 35 bn euro loan plan for Ukraine before winter
- From TikTok to Hollywood, the irresistible rise of Italy's Khaby Lame
- Verstappen punished for swearing in Singapore press conference
- Sri Lanka lead by 202 in first New Zealand Test
- Brook 'not too fussed' by England's batting in heavy Australia loss
- India's Ashwin 'happy' to embrace pressure
- A modern 'Trojan Horse': two days of mayhem in Lebanon
- Third of Burundi mpox cases in children under five: UN
- Man Utd appoint Foster + Partners to develop Old Trafford 'masterplan'
- Israel-Hezbollah exchanges intensify on Lebanon border
- French mayor sorry for 'no one died' remark over mass rape trial
- Mohamed Al-Fayed, outsider shunned by British high society
- Lawyers say 'monster' late Harrods owner abused dozens of women
- India in box seat after Bumrah takes four against Bangladesh
- Taiwan retains death penalty but limits use to 'exceptional' cases
- Ferrari's Leclerc sets early pace in Singapore ahead of Norris
- 10 years into Huthi rule, some Yemenis count the cost
- France poised to finally get new govt
- Kompany, Alonso call for action on player workload amid strike talks
- Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson doubtful for Bournemouth clash
- Bumrah takes four as India bowl out Bangladesh for 149
- Sri Lanka 134-1 to take upper hand in first New Zealand Test
- Bayern's Kompany calls for game cap for players amid strike talks
- Christie's expands Hong Kong footprint in hope of art market 'pickup'
- Sultry screen legend Sophia Loren turns 90
- Cambodian opposition figure in court on incitement charge
- Bumrah takes three wickets to have Bangladesh in trouble at 112-8
- Kimchi threat as heatwave drives up South Korea cabbage prices
- UK economic data delivers fresh blow to new govt
- China to 'gradually resume' seafood imports from Japan after Fukushima ban
CMSC | -0.04% | 25.11 | $ | |
RIO | -2.07% | 63.86 | $ | |
SCS | -2.35% | 13.005 | $ | |
RBGPF | 5.79% | 60.5 | $ | |
NGG | 1% | 69.525 | $ | |
GSK | -1.51% | 41 | $ | |
RYCEF | 0.14% | 6.96 | $ | |
CMSD | 0.03% | 25.018 | $ | |
RELX | 0.01% | 48.135 | $ | |
BCE | -0.67% | 34.955 | $ | |
BP | -0.34% | 32.65 | $ | |
JRI | -0.6% | 13.32 | $ | |
VOD | -0.35% | 10.025 | $ | |
BTI | -0.45% | 37.401 | $ | |
AZN | -0.68% | 78.367 | $ | |
BCC | -0.96% | 143.31 | $ |
Taiwan to scrap Covid quarantine for travellers in October
Taiwan will fully reopen its borders by ending mandatory Covid quarantine for arrivals next month, the government said Thursday.
The island has largely kept its borders closed and implemented strict quarantine rules throughout the coronavirus pandemic, keeping infection numbers low at the expense of being internationally cut off.
The government started to move away from its zero-Covid strategy in April towards accepting endemicity once its population was well vaccinated.
From October 13, authorities will eliminate quarantine and ask arrivals to self-monitor for seven days, cabinet spokesman Lo Ping-cheng quoted Premier Su Tseng-chang as saying on Thursday.
Visitors currently have to undergo a mandatory three-day hotel quarantine, followed by four days of self-monitoring where they are expected to avoid crowded places.
Visa-free travel for travellers from certain countries will resume from September 29 and the ban on tour groups will be lifted in October, Lo added.
The new measures will allow "the public to fully return to normal life, Taiwan to open its door to welcome back tourists and all industries to be more active and prosperous", he said.
But some tourism industry experts said Taiwan will still struggle to compete for visitors with other destinations in the region because of its self-monitoring rules.
"The whole world except China and Taiwan have opened up, and Taiwan has already been too slow and too late," said Robert Kao, an expert on tourism management and operations at Tainan University of Technology.
He described the seven days of self-monitoring with no quarantine as "meaningless", and added that "tourists would opt for countries like Japan or South Korea where there are no such restrictions".
Taiwan saw nearly six million domestic coronavirus infections this year, although over 99 percent of the infected had mild or no symptoms, with a fatality rate of 0.16 percent, according to official data.
O.Karlsson--AMWN