Fall-winter COVID-19 prevention program to be launched on December 1, announced by CECC Taiwan

【Forwarded News】

On November 18, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) announced that it would launch the Fall-winter COVID-19 Prevention Program on December 1 to enhance border quarantine control and to strengthen community prevention and medical response measures. The CECC urges the public and medical institutions to follow these measures.

Border quarantine: all travelers coming to Taiwan and transit passengers are required to provide a certificate of a negative COVID-19 RT-PCR test result issued within three days prior to boarding the flight to Taiwan. Starting from December 1, 2020, until February 28, 2021 (local time at the place of departure), travelers arriving at airports in Taiwan or transit passengers at airports in Taiwan, regardless of nationality (Taiwanese nationals or foreign nationals) or travel purpose (studies, work, diplomatic or official business, or others) are all required to present a certificate of a negative COVID-19 RT-PCR test result issued within three days (working days) of boarding before they are allowed to board their flight to Taiwan. After travelers arrive in Taiwan, if following investigations find that travelers have provided a false or an incorrect test result or they refuse, evade or obstruct the related quarantine measures, such travelers may face a fine of between NT$10,000 to NT$150,000 according to Articles 58 and 69 of the Communicable Disease Control Act. Furthermore, the criminal liability of the Offenses of Forging Instruments or Seals may be imposed on such travelers for their act of providing a false or an incorrect test result.

The CECC stated that a certificate of a negative COVID-19 RT-PCR test result must be issued by a medical institution deemed qualified by the local government in the traveler's place of departure. In principle, such a certificate shall be written in English, Chinese, or both Chinese and English (bilingual version). Such a certificate shall include the following information: the name on the passport of the traveler, the date of birth or passport number of the traveler, specimen collection date and test report date, the virus name, testing method, and the result. Related details and measures to comply with are listed below.

In situations where the traveler provides a French- or Spanish-language certificate, other than Chinese or English, of a negative COVID-19 test result, if the certificate is in the official language of the place of departure, and ground personnel of the airline is capable of assisting in the inspection of the content, the certificate may be accepted.
The three-day period of such a certificate means three working days and is counted from the test report date; therefore, national holidays in the country/region where the traveler takes the COVID-19 test may be excluded.
Such a certificate, whether it is the original copy, a photocopy, or an electronic file, can be accepted as long as the content and necessary fields on it are clear, identifiable and correct.
The testing method of a negative test result should be a nucleic acid test (such as PCR, RT-PCR, NAA, NAT or others); Immunoserologic testing, which detects the presence of any antigens (Ag) or antibodies (IgG or IgM) in blood, does not meet the requirements set forth in this program.

Reference: https://www.cdc.gov.tw/En/Bulletin/Detail/KIUJU0aZex70DPFUN3d66w?typeid=158

Note: Currently, non-degree students (including TEEP) cannot be approved for entry yet based on the policy of the pandemic prevention and quarantine capacity by the government, therefore, the relevant regulations mentioned above may not be applicable to TEEP program.