Taiwan, Pacific ally Palau to open travel bubble next month

Taiwan and the Pacific country of Palau will start a journey bubble upcoming month, permitting people today to journey between the islands with out a COVID-19 quarantine

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan and the Pacific country of Palau will launch a journey bubble upcoming thirty day period, allowing folks to vacation amongst the islands devoid of a COVID-19 quarantine.

Palau is a single of Taiwan’s remaining diplomatic allies right after China lured other nations around the world to deny recognition of the self-governed island it considers portion of its have territory.

Palau for its section has experienced zero circumstances of COVID-19, Chen Shih-chung, the head of Taiwan’s Central Epidemic Command Center, reported ata information conference announcing the bubble Wednesday.

Vacationers will have to have not been outside borders in 6 months, have no historical past of currently being requested to quarantine in the last two months and have not been infected with the coronavirus in the final three months, Chen claimed. They need to just take a virus check prior to leaving Taiwan and upon returning and must observe their health and fitness, in particular in the first five days on their return.

The bubble will get started with two flights for every week amongst the two islands, with the initial flight scheduled on April 1.

Taiwan has recorded about 990 scenarios of coronavirus infection, with 10 fatalities from COVID-19. The island took demanding measures swiftly right after the first conditions were detected in the central Chinese town of Wuhan in December 2019. It has rigorous border measure controls with a necessary two-7 days quarantine for all vacationers and has been generally shut to foreign tourists until they have function or reside in Taiwan.

Considerably of the present tourism from Palau to Taiwan is health care tourism, and Taiwan is a provider of virus tests and other health-related provides.

Palau’s present-day travel policy is for new arrivals to quarantine for 14 times if their level of origin is a high-possibility place, even though a briefer quarantine is feasible for people today who traveled from areas without ongoing local community transmission of the virus.

Palau’s President Surangel Whipps Jr. will occur to Taiwan on March 28 on an official check out to boost the island’s tourism market, even though it will not be a official state pay a visit to, claimed Taiwan’s Overseas Minister Joseph Wu.

The islands have experienced a diplomatic partnership because 1999.