Starting Saturday, all travelers arriving in Taiwan from Palau will face stricter COVID-19 health protocols, including mandatory quarantine and increased testing, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said Thursday, citing a growing number of reported COVID-19 cases in the Pacific island country.

Passengers traveling under a travel-bubble arrangement between the two diplomatic allies will be required to take a PCR test upon their arrival at a Taiwan airport and then quarantine for five days at a designated government facility, the CECC said in a statement.

On the fifth day of quarantine, travelers from Palau will have to take another PCR test, after which they will be allowed to leave the facility if the results are negative, the CECC said.

They will be required, however, to conduct self-health management for another 16 days, during which they must take three rapid tests and one PCR test, the CECC added.

The new measures will apply to people returning to Taiwan under a travel-bubble that was launched last April to ease health protocols for Taiwanese tourists wishing to visit Palau.

The travel bubble was suspended in mid-May 2021 amid a spike in domestic COVID-19 cases in Taiwan but was resumed in August that year.

Currently, travelers from Taiwan to Palau are required to take a PCR test before their departure from Taoyuan International Airport and upon their return to Taiwan, according to the CECC.

They do not need to quarantine when they arrive in Taiwan but must conduct self-health management for 14 days and take a PCR test on the fifth day, the CECC said.

With the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases surging in Palau, however, Taiwan is considering suspending the travel bubble again, the CECC said, adding it will make a decision based on the number of domestic cases reported in Palau in the next three to four weeks.

According to World Health Organization data, Palau had confirmed 167 COVID-19 cases as of Thursday, including 18 over the past 24 hours.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel