Taiwan will open its borders on October 13 despite an increase in COVID-19 cases. That was the word from Cabinet spokesperson Luo Ping-cheng on Thursday.
Luo says COVID cases have increased to between 40,000 and 50,000 a day, but this is within the range that officials expected. He says the plan to open borders on October 13 and the new 0+7 quarantine plan will go ahead as scheduled.
Taiwan currently requires people to undergo a 3+4 quarantine plan upon arrival. Officials had said earlier that the plan to cancel the quarantine system might be contingent on the number of COVID cases.
Recently, Taiwan has also seen experts calling for less strict mask rules in Taiwan as well as a change in the way the pandemic is reported. National Taiwan University's College of Public Health Professor Tony Chen says the mask mandate should be lifted except for in public spaces, mass transit, and crowded venues.
Professor Chen adds that Taiwan should transition from reporting daily cases to monitoring moderate to severe cases and deaths. He says these changes should reflect the fact that the pandemic is subsiding but that COVID will continue to be an endemic disease.