Health and Welfare Minister Chen Shih-chung attended a banquet organized by the Taipei Hotel Association on March 14. He said the quarantine period for inbound travelers may be reduced to seven days in one month's time, and then eventually to five days and then three days as Taiwan learns to co-exist with the coronavirus.
Crowds fill the tourist attraction. People can only travel domestically for the moment, and many are looking forward to the day when border controls are lifted. Central Epidemic Command Center Commander Chen Shih-chung revealed on March 14 that the government is moving towards a "753" quarantine policy for inbound travelers. The first step is reducing the quarantine period to seven days in one month's time. The quarantine period will then be progressively reduced to five days and then three days. Chen estimated that 20 percent of COVID-19 cases may be undetected if the quarantine period is five days.
Lu Meng-lung, Director, Taipei Association of Travel Agents: “We of course will comply with the government's regulations and report any cases to the government. With regards to medical insurance for travelers, we have insurance companies that can help to minimize losses and control risks for consumers.”
The travel industry says there are already SOPs in place in case inbound tourists test positive, and it is anticipating the lifting of border controls. Doctors say the longer Taiwan pursues a zero-COVID policy, the harder it will be to align internationally. Therefore, the top priority is to moderately relax restrictions and allow people to learn how to co-exist with the coronavirus.
Chiang Kuan-yu, Doctor: “Of course there may be setbacks during this period, such as the emergence of a new variant or community transmission chains. However, it's like it was in Singapore, you will experience these setbacks at the start.”
Chen Hsiu-hsi, Professor, College of Public Health, NTU: “Right now, if it's going to be changed to five days and rapid tests and two PCR tests are required, then we won't miss out on many cases. Even if these cases are undetected, the majority of the cases have mild symptoms.”
Experts say Taiwan can follow the example of the US and Europe. For example, the UK and US have already reached herd immunity standards from vaccination and infection. Once Taiwan's booster coverage rate is sufficient and the number of inbound travelers requiring hospitalization is maintained at under 350 per week to prevent burdening the medical system, then Taiwan can begin relaxing border controls.
人山人海、擠爆景點，後疫情時代國人旅遊只能在國內，何時解封能自由出國旅行？中央流行疫情指揮中心指揮官陳時中鬆口，入境隔離政策將朝「753」鬆綁，首先會在一個多月後，入境隔離天數降為7天，接下來會逐步縮短為5天，再減為3天，但陳時中也坦言，縮短為5天時，預計會有20%的入境病例無法抓到。
台北市旅行公會理事陸孟龍表示：「我們當然是配合主管機關的規範，然後（確診）會通報到我們主管機關，再來的話，旅客最重要的醫療保險，我們有保險公司可以來做消費者最低的損失，還有風險的控管。」
旅行業者表示，其實對於接待入境旅客，從人數、防疫到萬一確診的sop，都已擬出應對措施，業者很期待邊境政策可以越來越鬆，有醫師也直言，追求清零的政策持續越久，就越不利與國際接軌，因此適度鬆綁開放，讓國人漸漸習慣和病毒共存，是當務之急。
醫師姜冠宇認為：「當然也不排除說這段時間還會遭到別的挫折，比方說有新的變異株出來，或者是說又不小心在社區內又有傳染鏈的擴散，但是這個其實就像新加坡一樣，一開始你會遭受到這些挫折。」
台大公衛學院教授陳秀熙則說：「目前來講，我們如果真的5天確實來做快篩，跟兩次PCR來講的時候，其實漏掉的個案並不會太多，即使這些漏掉的個案，通常他的症狀都是蠻輕微的。」
專家分析以歐美為例，像是英國與美國，因疫苗覆蓋率與自然感染，集體免疫和保護力都已達標，若台灣在疫苗第3劑覆蓋率足夠，以及每週境外移入個案住院人數，維持在350人以下，不造成醫療負擔，就可以開始鬆綁邊境。