As Taiwan reopens its borders, is it ready to live with Covid?

Transit passengers can again travel to the island from Wednesday with a shortened three-day quarantine period

But case numbers are still high and hospital workers say they have been overwhelmed in the latest surge

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Taiwan has eased its entry rules as its policy of living with the virus is put to the test. Photo: CNA

Published: 7:30pm, 15 Jun 2022Updated: 10:40am, 16 Jun 2022

Corrected [10:39am, 16 Jun, 2022]

[10:39am, 16 Jun, 2022]
This has been amended to reflect that the changes relate to transit passengers rather than tourist visitors.

Taiwan reopened its borders on Wednesday, allowing transit passengers back to the island with a shortened three-day quarantine period followed by four days of Covid-19 health monitoring for all approved travellers.

The easing of entry rules was announced as Taiwan’s daily case numbers and deaths have started to fall, and goes further than expected – the government had said it was considering relaxing the rules for business travellers first.

But Covid-19 continues to spread in the community – 68,965 new cases and 143 deaths were reported on Wednesday. Health Minister Chen Shih-chung tested positive the previous day, and three other key figures in the island’s pandemic control efforts have also been infected.

The latest surge in cases since the end of April has put Taiwan’s policy of living with the virus to the test – straining the health system and raising the question of how the island will fare in the next stage as the borders reopen.

‘Exhausted’ health workers

The current Omicron-driven outbreak in Taiwan has been similar to Hong Kong’s fifth wave in March. Vaccination has not provided sufficient immunity against the highly infectious coronavirus variant and there have been large community outbreaks.

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