User:Itsnotserenac/臺灣對嚴重特殊傳染性肺炎疫情的檢疫政策
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, Taiwan has adopted its own measures, which is to restrict the entry of people from the outside and to supervise people entering, to curb the virus. One of the most salient COVID-19 containment policies in Taiwan is its quarantine quarantine measures, which alter in accordance with the development of the pandemic.
Background information for the quarantine measures in Taiwan
[编辑]Globally, countries have adopted different means to curb the spread of COVID-19 since its outbreak in late December 2019. Containment policies against the virus vary internationally, from those founded on the basis of the Nudge Theory (for example, the policies taken place in Sweden)[1], to more stringent approaches which often involve monitoring the movement of the quarantined (for example, South Korea)[2]. As a part of the broader containment policies, globally, there are four main policy approaches towards COVID-19 border control and quarantine.
The first kind of policy is to allow all travellers to enter their country with a negative result on the PCR test or being fully vaccinated to waive the requirement of home quarantine. | The second kind of policy is to allow all travellers to enter their countries with mandatory home quarantine measures for every traveller. |
The third kind of policy is to restrict some countries’ travellers to enter their country with mandatory home quarantine measures for the rest of the travellers. | And the last kind of policy is to only allow its own citizens to enter its countries with mandatory home quarantine measures or other alternative requirements.
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For the case of Taiwan, the country adopts the third kind of policy, which is to place a restriction on certain countries' travelers to enter its borders with mandatory home quarantine measures for the rest of the travelers including its own citizens.
Taiwan's border control and quarantine policies
[编辑]Timeline (policy shifts shown in table)
[编辑]Date | Policy | Additional Details | References |
---|---|---|---|
1 February 2020 | Travelers who have been to GuangDong are required to conduct a 14-day home quarantine; Travelers who arrive in Taiwan through the Mini Three Links also have to conduct a 14-day home quarantine. | [3] | |
2 February 2020 | Travelers who have been to Wenzhou City are required to conduct a 14-day home quarantine. | [4] | |
3 February 2020 | Taiwanese businessmen returning from Wuhan are required to conduct a 14-day quarantine in group quarantine facilities. | [5] | |
4 February 2020 | Travelers who have been to Zhejiang are required to conduct a 14-day home quarantine. | [6] | |
6 February 2020 | Taiwanese inbound travelers with travel history of China, Hong Kong, or Macau are required to conduct home quarantine for 14 days; Hong Kong and Macau residents are also required to conduct home quarantine for 14 days. | [7] | |
14 March 2020 | Starting 2 pm of March 14, travelers yet on board leaving 27 European countries or Dubai are required to practice a 14-day home quarantine after entering Taiwan. | The 27 European countries includes France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Slovakia, Slovenia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Greece, Malta, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, the UK, and Ireland. | [8] |
18 March 2020 | All inbound travelers will be subjected to a 14-day period of home quarantine after entering Taiwan. | [9] | |
25 April 2020 | People subject to home isolation or quarantine would be allowed to leave home or designated location for funerals or visiting relatives. They may submit a request to the local health bureau of their residence for going out to attend a funeral of a deceased first or second degree relative or visit such relative with serious illness. | Those who are in home isolation or quarantine and asymptomatic may submit a request to the local health bureau on or after the fifth day of home isolation or quarantine period. Within two days after the individual’s test results come back negative, the individual may, with the hospital’s consent, go out to visit a patient or attend or organize a funeral for which the duration may not exceed an hour at a time. The individual may not use public transportation. | [10] |
24 June 2020 | Taiwan will relax entry restrictions on foreign nationals to meet commercial and trade demand and humanitarian needs. When checking in with the airline for the flight to Taiwan, they must present an English-language certificate of a negative COVID-19 RT-PCR test taken within three days of boarding. They must also undergo a 14-day home quarantine upon entry into the country. | [11] | |
1 March 2021 | Taiwan allows short-term business travelers from a list of low- and medium-risk countries who were eligible to enter the country to apply for shortened quarantine periods. | [12] | |
10 April 2021 | Travelers from the United Kingdom, Republic of South Africa, and the Kingdom of Eswatini have the choice to undergo their 14-day quarantine at either a designated quarantine hotel or their own residence. | [13] | |
26 June 2021 | Group quarantine facilities available for arrivals from countries other than high-risk countries at their own expense. | [14] | |
27 June 2021 | In response to spread of Delta variant globally, Taiwan strengthens quarantine measures for arrivals. | 1. Travelers arriving in Taiwan from "key high-risk countries": after they enter Taiwan, such travelers will be required to quarantine in group quarantine facilities for 14 days.
2. Travelers arriving Taiwan from countries other than the seven countries will be required to stay in a quarantine hotel or a group quarantine facility at their own expense for 14 days after arrival. 3. Flight crew members of Taiwanese airlines, after returning to Taiwan from "key high-risk countries", shall undergo quarantine in a quarantine hotel or a company dormitory that meets related regulations for 14 days. |
[15] |
1 November 2021 | In response to influx of inbound travelers before Lunar New Year holiday, CECC adjusts home quarantine measures. | 1. People arriving in Taiwan from key high-risk countries shall observe the 14-day quarantine at group quarantine facilities.
2. Travelers arriving Taiwan from countries other than key high-risk countries will be required to stay in a quarantine hotel or a group quarantine facility at their own expense for the first 10 days of quarantine after arrival; for the remaining four days of quarantine, they can return home to complete the quarantine period. |
[16] |
11 November 2021 | CECC explains three options to undergo quarantine during holiday for arrivals. | Program A: 14+0+7. Staying in the quarantine hotel for 14 days and 7 days of self-health management.
Program B: 10+4+7. 10 days in the quarantine hotel, 4 days at home for quarantine and 7 days of self-health management. Program C: 7+7+7. 7 days in the quarantine hotel, 7 days at home for quarantine and 7 days of self-health management. |
[17] |
24 November 2021 | Relax restrictions concerning duration for attending funerals or visiting relatives for people in home isolation or quarantine. | [18] | |
29 November 2021 | South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, and Zimbabwe are put on CECC’s list of key high-risk countries; travelers from those six countries are required to quarantine in group quarantine facilities. | [19] | |
1 December 2021 | Malawi, Mozambique, Egypt, and Nigeria are put on CECC's list of key high-risk countries; travelers from those four countries to be required to quarantine in group quarantine facility. | [20] |
Taiwan's quarantine measures
[编辑]General guidelines
[编辑]Starting from 27 June 2021, Taiwan had strengthened its quarantine measures in response to the global spread of the Delta variant. Travelers arriving in Taiwan from "key high-risk countries (including Brazil, India, the UK, Peru, Israel, Indonesia, and Bangladesh)" were required to quarantine in group quarantine facilities for 14 days and undergo PCR tests for COVID-19 upon checking in at group quarantine facilities and at the end of their quarantine period; such travelers are not required to pay group quarantine facility accommodation and testing fees. Travelers arriving Taiwan from countries other than the seven ”key high-risk countries” will be required to stay in a quarantine hotel or a group quarantine facility at their own expense for 14 days after arrival; they should also undergo a PCR test before the end of their quarantine period. [21]
Overall, inbound travelers to Taiwan are subjected to two main categories of quarantine measures: one being “isolation(隔離)”, which is applicable to those who had contact with confirmed cases, and another being “quarantine(檢疫)”, which applies to those with international travel history. The amount of fine for the violations of quarantine measures varies among different measures. According to Article 15 of the Special Act for Prevention, Relief and Revitalization Measures for Severe Pneumonia with Novel Pathogens, individuals who violate the “isolation measures” prescribed by a competent health authority of any level in accordance with Paragraph 1, Article 48 of the Communicable Disease Control Act shall be imposed with a fine of no less than NT$200,000 and no more than NT$1 million. Whereas individuals who violate the “quarantine measures” specified by a competent health authority of any level in accordance with Subparagraph 4, Paragraph 1, Article 58 of the Communicable Disease Control Act shall be imposed with a fine of no less than NT$100,000 and no more than NT$1 million.
Special quarantine programs
[编辑]Business Travelers
[编辑]Starting from 1 March 2021, Taiwan again allowed short-term business travelers from a list of low- and medium-risk countries who were eligible to enter the country to apply for shortened quarantine periods. Applicants who arrived in Taiwan from low-risk countries may apply to the local health authority to take a self-paid COVID-19 test on the 5th day of their stay, and those who arrived in Taiwan from medium-risk countries on the 7th day. After acquiring a negative COVID-19 test result, such business travelers could apply to the local health authority to end their home quarantine period and observe enhanced self-health management until the 14th day after entry; they should observe regular self-health management from the 15th to 21st day after entry. During the enhanced self-health management period, only limited business activities were allowed for such business travelers and they should avoid going to crowded places.
Specialized measures for certain countries
[编辑]Starting from 10 April 2021, Taiwan introduced new quarantine measures for travelers from the United Kingdom, Republic of South Africa, and the Kingdom of Eswatini. These measures now meant that people who departed, or transited, through said countries were now no longer required to stay at group quarantine facilities. Travelers now had the choice to undergo their 14-day quarantine at either a designated quarantine hotel or their own residence (given that they followed the one person per residence requirement). However, on 29 November 2021, regarding the current pandemic in the Kingdom of Eswatini and South Africa, the CECC had put the two countries on the list of key high-risk countries; travelers from Eswatini and South Africa are required to undergo quarantine in group quarantine facilities.
Quarantine policies
[编辑]Border control
[编辑]From 19 March 2020, all travelers entering Taiwan must undergo a 14-day quarantine. Passengers are required to report their travel history, while receiving fever screening, health assessment, and throat swab specimens are also taken from those who have symptoms at the airport or hospital. While waiting for the testing result, the passengers need to wait in the quarantine facility.[22]
The use of information technology
[编辑]In the Yangmingshan quarantine center on 12 November 2020, the telehealth system was developed based on the app LINE. The quarantined individuals were invited into a group, so as to report their health conditions. When receiving unusual health reports, MDT members could check the patient on time. With instant messages, MDT members could quickly respond and provide the treatment and management. If travelers were in high fever or short breath, they would be sent to the hospital for further treatment.[23]
Measures for the Lunar New Year
[编辑]The latest policies are carried out by the CDC since 14 December 2021, in order to contain the pandemic under the upcoming Lunar New Year. There are three programs for travelers, while Program A is for unvaccinated passengers.[24]
Program A: 14+0+7. Staying in the quarantine hotel for 14 days and 7 days of self-health management.
Program B: 10+4+7. 10 days in the quarantine hotel, 4 days at home for quarantine and 7 days of self-health management.
Program C: 7+7+7. 7 days in the quarantine hotel, 7 days at home for quarantine and 7 days of self-health management.
Reception and criticism of the quarantine policies
[编辑]Taiwan’s quarantine policies have received both positive and negative feedback from commentators throughout different phases of the course of the pandemic.
Related to social impacts
[编辑]After passengers land in Taiwan, their information is integrated into Taiwan’s 14-day home quarantine and isolation system (or so-called Digital Fencing Tracking System). The system utilizes mobile phone positioning to track people’s whereabouts. Under this system, if a quarantined or isolated individual unlawfully leaves the quarantine area, an alert message will be sent to the individual and government agencies to ensure travelers’ full compliance with quarantine rules.[25]
Because the Digital Fencing Tracking System identifies people’s whereabouts based on the location of their mobile phones relative to cell reception towers nearby, it is argued to be “less intrusive” to personal privacy vis-à-vis GPS technologies.[26] While many countries reportedly have expressed interest in attaining the monitoring technology used by the island state,[27] concerns over privacy have also been voiced.[28] For example, in January 2021, local human rights organization Taiwan Association for Human Rights published a statement on the system’s possible violations against human rights. The statement outlined three problems of the tracking system, including inadequacies in the system’s legal foundation, unclear exit mechanism, and the lack of transparency in the authority’s relevant meeting records.[29]
Other aspects of the country’s quarantine policies have also been under the spotlight. For example, the Central Epidemic Command Center’s announcement as of November 11, 2021, has received mixed reviews from the general public. The announcement unveiled a new program that provides alternative quarantine options for inbound travelers ahead of the 2022 Lunar New Year holidays. Under the new program, arrivals will spend the first ten or seven days of quarantine at a hotel or government facility, and finish the rest of the 14-day quarantine period at their own residence. Those in favor of the new program support the flexibility it offers for the travelers, especially in time when Taiwan’s overall vaccine coverage has been rising. Moreover, the loosened quarantine protocols are likely to alleviate the shortage of hotels eligible for quarantine. One the other hand, those opposing the eased quarantine protocol expressed their concern over the possible loopholes in curbing the virus, since it is relatively more difficult to monitor the movement of those in residential quarantine. In addition, those against the new program also find the provisions troublesome for the family of the arrivals, as the members of a household that the travelers are quarantining with need to be tested regularly.[30]
Related to economic impacts
[编辑]Around the world, containment policies including quarantine and border control have taken a toll on economic activities, both domestically and transnationally. As time passes, governments have devised plans and strategies to reopen the borders.
In Taiwan, throughout the course of the pandemic, the CECC has, from time to time, launched programs for short-term business travelers to apply for shortened quarantine periods. The programs seek to “gradually reopen international economic and trade activity, ” as announced in an official statement.[31] A “Travel Bubble”, which allows Taiwanese tourists to visit Palau under eased health protocols, has also been launched. Nonetheless, the waves of surge of COVID-19 cases in Taiwan and the world have cast uncertainty over these special programs that seek to revitalize the economy, causing many of them to be halted temporarily.[32]
- ^ Pierre, Jon. Nudges against pandemics: Sweden’s COVID-19 containment strategy in perspective. Policy and Society. 2020, 39 (3): 478–493 [2021-12-10]. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/14494035.2020.1783787 请检查
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值 (帮助). - ^ 衛生福利部疾病管制署. 因應中國大陸廣東省新型冠狀病毒肺炎疫情持續上升,中央流行疫情指揮中心明日起將該省列入二級流行地區,入境民眾如有廣東旅遊史,需居家檢疫. [2021-12-27].
- ^ 衛生福利部疾病管制署. 溫州市列二級流行地區,民眾如有旅遊史需居家檢疫. [2021-12-27].
- ^ 衛生福利部疾病管制署. 武漢返台台商將嚴格集中隔離檢疫,請民眾放心. [2021-12-27].
- ^ 衛生福利部疾病管制署. 2月5日起浙江省列二級流行地區,有旅遊史者入境後需居家檢疫. [2021-12-27].
- ^ 衛生福利部疾病管制署. 2月6日起全中國大陸(含港澳)列二級以上流行地區,居住中國大陸各省市陸人暫緩入境. [2021-12-27].
- ^ 衛生福利部疾病管制署. 3月14日14時起,尚未登機離開歐洲27國或杜拜之旅客,入境台灣後須居家檢疫14天. [2021-12-27].
- ^ 衛生福利部疾病管制署. 3月5日至14日自歐洲入境民眾請儘速通報鄉鎮公所;另針對所有非本國籍人士限制入境,所有入境者入境後都需進行居家檢疫14天. [2021-12-27].
- ^ 衛生福利部疾病管制署. 為奔喪或探視,居家隔離/檢疫者可有條件外出. [2021-12-27].
- ^ Taiwan Centers for Disease Control. Entry measures to be gradually relaxed for foreign nationals, Hong Kong and Macao residents; eligible travelers must present negative COVID-19 test result at check-in and undergo 14-day home quarantine upon entry. [2021-12-27].
- ^ Taiwan Centers for Disease Control. Starting from March 1, Taiwan to again allow short-term business travelers from list of low- and medium-risk countries who are eligible to enter the country to apply for shortened quarantine periods. [2021-12-27].
- ^ 衛生福利部疾病管制署. 4月10日起,具英國、南非或史瓦帝尼旅遊史之入境旅客,恢復防疫旅宿或1人1戶之居家檢疫措施. [2021-12-27].
- ^ Taiwan Centers for Disease Control. Group quarantine facilities available for arrivals from countries other than high-risk countries at their own expense. [2021-12-27].
- ^ Taiwan Centers for Disease Control. In response to spread of Delta variant globally, Taiwan to strengthen quarantine measures for arrivals starting June 27. [2021-12-27].
- ^ Taiwan Centers for Disease Control. In response to influx of inbound travelers before Lunar New Year holiday, CECC adjusts home quarantine measures. [2021-12-27].
- ^ Taiwan Centers for Disease Control. In response to influx of inbound travelers before Lunar New Year holiday, CECC explains three options to undergo quarantine during holiday for arrivals. [2021-12-27].
- ^ Taiwan Centers for Disease Control. Starting today, CECC to conditionally relax restrictions concerning duration for attending funerals or visiting relatives for people in home isolation or quarantine. [2021-12-27].
- ^ 衛生福利部疾病管制署. 11月29日零時起,南非、波札那、納米比亞、賴索托、史瓦帝尼及辛巴威等6個國家提升為「重點高風險國家」,入境後須入住集中檢疫所. [2021-12-27].
- ^ 衛生福利部疾病管制署. 12月1日零時起,增列馬拉威、莫三比克、埃及、奈及利亞等4個國家為「重點高風險國家」,入境後須入住集中檢疫所. [2021-12-27].
- ^ Taiwan Centers for Disease Control. In response to spread of Delta variant globally, Taiwan to strengthen quarantine measures for arrivals starting June 27. [2021-12-27].
- ^ Lin, Yu-Hsuan; et al. Border Quarantine Measures and Achievement of COVID-19 Control in Taiwan. Epidemiology Bulletin. 2020, 36 (15): 87-88.
- ^ Yen, Yung-Feng; et al. Use and Cost-Effectiveness of a Telehealth Service at a Centralized COVID-19 Quarantine Center in Taiwan: Cohort Study. J Med Internet Res. 2020, 22 (12). doi:doi:10.2196/22703 请检查
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值 (帮助). - ^ Taiwan Centers for Disease Control. Follow quarantine rules and enjoy a trouble-free return: CECC reminds returning travelers of instructions to follow before arrival and custom clearance at airport. [2021-12-27].
- ^ Ministry of Health and Welfare. Combined the ‘Entry Quarantine System’ and ‘Digital Fencing Tracking System’ and utilize mobile positioning to monitor movement of individuals. Ministry of Health and Welfare. [2021-12-25].
- ^ Huang, Tzu-ti. Taiwan’s digital fence technologies draw international attention. Taiwan News. 2020-4-8 [2021-12-25].
- ^ Huang, Tzu-ti. Taiwan’s digital fence technologies draw international attention. Taiwan News. 2020-4-8 [2021-12-25].
- ^ Hsieh, Milo. Coronavirus: Under surveillance and confined at home in Taiwan. BBC. 2021-3-24 [2021-12-25].
- ^ Taiwan Association for Human Rights. 【聲明】從電子圍籬到天網:防疫電子監控給問嗎?. [2021-12-25].
- ^ Social Lab 社群實驗室. 春節檢疫再添新方案!網友認為擾民還是便民?. [2021-12-25].
- ^ Taiwan Centers for Disease Control. 旅遊泡泡專案. [2021-12-25].
- ^ Liao, George. Taiwan-Palau travel bubble bursts. Taiwan News. 2021-11-22 [2021-12-25].