Filipinos will be able to travel to Taiwan by the end of the month without the need to secure a visa after the East Asian country reinstated its visa-free policy to 11 countries.
Taiwan’s Bureau of Consular Affairs announced on Thursday the resumption of visa-free entry to select countries starting Sept. 29 as part of its government’s first stages of easing up its borders amid COVID-19, the English website of state-run news outlet CNA reported.
Besides the Philippines, other countries that could enjoy visa-free travel to Taiwan include Japan, Korea, Chile, Israel, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Brunei, according to CNA.
Despite slightly loosening its border restrictions, Taiwan will still require travelers to undergo a three-day home or hotel quarantine and a four-day self-monitoring as part of precautions against the virus.
Travelers are no longer required to take an RT-PCR test; a self-administered antigen test would be sufficient, the Philippines’ northern neighbor added.
Hong Kong, meanwhile, announced Friday it will end mandatory hotel quarantine, scrapping some of the world’s toughest travel restrictions that have battered its economy and kept the finance hub internationally isolated.
The long-awaited move will bring relief to residents and businesses clamoring for the Asian business hub to rejoin the rest of the world in resuming unhindered travel and living with the coronavirus.
For the past two and a half years Hong Kong has adhered to a version of China’s strict zero-COVID rules, deepening a brain drain as rival business hubs reopen.
The announcement leaves mainland China as the only major economy still hewing to lengthy quarantine for international arrivals.
Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee said the current three days of hotel quarantine would be reduced to zero for those arriving from overseas and Taiwan.
From September 26, travelers will be subject to PCR tests on arrival and will be unable to visit restaurants and bars for the first three days under a system that authorities have dubbed “0+3.”
“Under this arrangement, the quarantine hotel system will be canceled,” Lee told reporters.
Hong Kong once boasted one of the world’s busiest airports, but passenger numbers this year are just 3.8 percent of pre-pandemic levels.
Since that wave, the number of local infections far outweighed those coming in from overseas, but authorities still stuck with quarantine rules.
At its peak last year, quarantines lasted as many as 21 days, and the economic toll has been severe. The city is currently in a technical recession—two consecutive quarters of negative growth.
On Thursday, finance chief Paul Chan warned Hong Kong will likely end 2022 in a full recession, while the fiscal deficit is expected to balloon to HK$100 billion ($12.7 billion), twice initial estimates.
HK Express, the low-cost wing of city carrier Cathay Pacific, saw its website inundated with requests on Friday and warned customers of delays in bookings. With AFP
