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Taiwan
ChinaScience

Taiwan approves tourism guidelines but health authority says plan to reopen border must wait until Covid cases drop

  • Reopening is a step closer after guidelines proposed by Tourism Bureau to allow travel agencies to organise inbound and outbound tours are approved
  • Island warned the number of new cases will continue to rise through September and could only show signs of easing by mid-October

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Taiwan shut its border in February 2020 and banned local agencies from organising inbound and outbound tours to avoid the spread of the virus. A new guideline proposed by the island’s Tourism Bureau has been approved by health authorities but they say no steps to open the border can be taken until case numbers come down. Photo: CNA
Lawrence Chung
Taiwan plans to learn from its Asian neighbours such as Japan, Singapore and Thailand in gradually reopening its border after more than two years of being shut down because of the lingering Covid-19 pandemic that has wreaked havoc all over the world.
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Reopening came one step closer on Wednesday after Taiwanese health authorities approved guidelines proposed by the island’s Tourism Bureau to allow local travel agencies to organise inbound and outbound tours.

Wang Pi-sheng, head of Taiwan’s Central Epidemic Command Centre, confirmed in a news conference in Taipei on Wednesday that the guidelines – which outline restrictions and procedures for local tourist agents – were approved by the centre.

“The guidelines pave the way for us to reopen the country’s border in the future,” he said.

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But he stressed that as new infection cases continued to rise it was impossible for the centre to recommend reopening the border now.

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