Taiwan cancels pre-flight COVID-19 testing requirement for inbound travelers

TAIPEI -- Starting from Monday, all travelers coming to Taiwan will no longer be required to present a negative nucleic acid test result effective within two days ahead of the flight, according to the island's disease monitoring agency.

The inbound travelers will subsequently have three days of isolation and four days of self-prevention after landing in Taiwan, said the agency in a statement.

Taiwan has gradually loosened COVID-19 response measures as the epidemic in the island is on the decline. It has shortened the duration of isolation for inbound trips from seven days to three days since June.

Statistics from the agency on Thursday showed that the region reported 22,650 new locally transmitted cases and 44 deaths over the past 24 hours, with the accumulated number of local cases recorded in Taiwan reaching 4.8 million.