In conjunction with the Fall-Winter COVID-19 Prevention Program announced by the Central Epidemic Control Center (CECC) on December 1, the Tainan City Government has strengthened major measures in the three following areas:
1. Border Quarantine:
Starting from December 1, 2020 and until February 28, 2021, all travelers heading to airports in Taiwan or transit passengers at airports in Taiwan, regardless of nationality or travel purpose, are required to present a certificate of a negative COVID-19 RT-PCR test result issued within three days (working days) of boarding in order to be allowed to board the flight to Taiwan.
If travelers are found to have provided a false or an incorrect test result or they refuse, evade, or obstruct the related quarantine measures, such travelers may face a fine of between NT$10,000 to NT$150,000 according to Article 58 and Article 69 of the Communicable Disease Control Act.
2. Community Prevention:
According to CECC regulations, people must wear masks in the eight types of public venues: healthcare facilities, public transportation, places of consumption, learning places, sports and exhibition venues, entertainment venues, religious and worship places, offices and business venues. Those who fail to wear masks in accordance with the regulations and refuse to listen after persuasion will be fined NT$3,000 to NT$15,000 for violations of Article 37, Item 1, Subparagraph 6, of the Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Act.
If people need to dine at the above-mentioned public venues, as long as social distancing is maintained or partitions are installed inside those locations, people can take off their masks temporarily while eating. At outdoor venues where crowds of people gather, or at public gatherings held outdoors, it is recommended that event organizers or venue management adopt the "capacity control" method to ensure the safety of these public gatherings.
3. Medical Response:
The Public Health Bureau of Tainan City supervises all medical institutions to strictly adhere to the statutory communicable disease notification obligation, and sets indicators such as "strengthening the screening of patients with pneumonia in outpatient and emergency departments", "strengthening inpatient screening" and "strengthening health monitoring of medical care workers." Officials also utilize the health insurance system to enforce case reporting, support individuals without COVID-19 related symptoms undergoing home isolation, and strengthen specimen collection and other related procedures.
According to the Fall-Winter COVID-19 Prevention Program, the Tainan City Government requires all individuals entering government agencies and offices to wear masks and follow the real-name registration system. Tainan City Mayor Huang Wei-che also participated in an epidemic prevention campaign at the Tainan Railway Station to raise awareness of mask-wearing at the eight required types of venues, including distributing health promotion materials in Indonesian and Vietnamese languages for foreign migrant workers.
To protect the health of all citizens, the Tainan City Government has inspected quarantine hotels, mask factories and pharmacies. These measures will continue into the future to strengthen the management of quarantine hotels and prevent illegal masks from entering the market.
The success of epidemic prevention and control depends on the joint efforts of both the government and the private sector. Citizens must cooperate with the government in complying with various epidemic prevention measures. If you have any questions regarding the control and prevention of COVID-19, please call the Public Health Bureau's hotline (06-288-0180) for further consultation.