Taiwan tightens control measures amid surging COVID-19 cases

TAIPEI -- Taiwan will require all inbound passengers to submit a negative COVID-19 test result before boarding a plane to the island, the island's epidemic monitoring agency said on Wednesday.

Passengers set to visit Taiwan or transit through here, regardless of their identities or reasons for visiting, must present a negative-result certificate of a nucleic acid test taken within three days of boarding at the time of checking in, the agency said in a statement.

The move is one of the new COVID-19 control measures that will be in place from Dec 1 and last until Feb 28 next year.

Other measures include the requirement of mask-wearing at eight types of public venues such as medical institutions, public transport facilities, and schools.

The total number of COVID-19 cases in Taiwan has risen to 607, including two newly reported cases on Wednesday who arrived from Indonesia and the United States, respectively.