The CECC is expanding its airport testing program to arrivals from India and Southeast Asia. Starting Thursday, passengers on flights from these regions will need to test negative BEFORE leaving the airport for their quarantine facilities. Let''s hear from the CECC.

Chen Shih-chung
CECC head
Compulsory testing for long-haul flights has been in place for a period of time, for several days now, and the whole process and the relevant SOPs have become more mature. So we are going to expand the mandatory testing for arrivals at the airport starting Jan. 20 at midnight, for flights that arrive afterward. This will apply to long-haul flights from Europe, the Americas, the Middle East, Australia and New Zealand. It will also apply to routes from South and Southeast Asia. All passengers arriving to Taiwan will be tested at the airport. Tomorrow, testing the flights from South Asia and Southeast Asia means we will test an additional 10 flights in the morning, evening and later at night. We have made the necessary preparations. We hope that this policy will uncover infected cases at the border, right as they land. This should be helpful toward preventing community transmission.

Travelers who test negative will be allowed to go through customs and take a quarantine taxi to their quarantine hotel or center. Those who test positive will be transported by ambulance to a designated medical facility.