Focus Taiwan
Date: 11/19/2020
By: Chang Ming-hsuan and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, Nov. 19 (CNA) All passengers arriving in Taiwan who are unable to provide a report of a negative COVID-19 test result within three days prior to boarding a plane as requested, will be allowed to pay for a test upon arrival, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said on Thursday.

According to new COVID-19 prevention measures announced on Wednesday, starting Dec. 1, all inbound and transit passengers must submit a negative COVID-19 reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) report within three days of their flight to Taiwan.

However, the new policy sparked concerns among overseas Taiwanese business people who might not be able to return to Taiwan because the countries they operate in do not have facilities or trained health workers to implement the tests.

In response, CECC spokesman Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) told a press briefing on Thursday that as far as he knew, up to 90 percent of countries have generally made self-paid COVID-19 testing available, while about 10 percent only offer such tests for people from certain countries or for those who have symptoms.    [FULL  STORY]