Taiwan halts plan by island near mainland coast to test arrivals for Covid-19
- County government of Quemoy had said every arrival needed to show negative Covid-19 test or be tested on arrival, amid Taiwan’s spike in cases
- But Taipei’s Central Epidemic Command Centre says entry restrictions and forced tests are for central Taiwanese government to decide
Taiwan is dealing with a spike in cases after months of keeping the pandemic well under control, with restrictions in place across the island to limit gatherings, schools closed and people told to work from home as much as possible.
While the government is increasing testing, it has been criticised by opposition parties for delays, especially over the weekend when the health minister announced a “regression calibration” of case numbers that increased its infection toll.
On Sunday, the government of Quemoy (also called Kinmen), which lies opposite the mainland Chinese city of Xiamen in Fujian province and has been held by Taiwan since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949, said all arrivals would have to show negative Covid-19 tests, or be tested on arrival.
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But early on Monday, the Central Epidemic Command Centre, a cross-department body which leads the fight against the disease, revoked that order, saying entry and exit restrictions or forced tests were for the central Taiwanese government to decide.