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.
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 announcement leaves mainland China as the only major economy still hewing to lengthy quarantine for international arrivals. Since that wave, the number of local infections far outweighed those coming in from overseas, but authorities still stuck with quarantine rules.