Taiwan will reduce mandatory quarantine in epidemic prevention hotels to 10 days from the current 14 days for the Lunar New Year holiday, says the island’s disease monitoring agency.

The relaxed rules would apply to arrivals from non-high-risk regions from December 14, to February 14, 2022, said the agency.

Under the new regulations, only ten days of the quarantine would have to be spent in a designated Coronavirus (COVID-19) quarantine hotel or concentrated quarantine facility.

The other four days can be spent at a residence in Taiwan.
At present, all 14 days in quarantine must be spent in designated hotels or concentrated quarantine facilities.

Travellers who have been to or transited through key high-risk regions in the two weeks before entering Taiwan would still have to quarantine at a concentrated quarantine facility for 14 days.

Taiwan decided to adjust the rules amid concerns of a large influx of people for the Chinese New Year holiday starting late January.

It could strain the availability of rooms in quarantine hotels, the agency said.

The relaxed quarantine requirements also came after the COVID-19 epidemic has eased on the island, and vaccination rates have risen in many countries, it added.

(dpa/NAN)