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進入《TAIPEI TIMES》 CECC extends alert 2 more weeks
People wait at a COVID-19 vaccination station at the Kaohsiung MRT railway system’s Formosa Boulevard Station in the city’s Sinsing District yesterday. Photo: Hsu Li-chuan, Taipei Times
HOME FOR HOLIDAYS: Fully vaccinated travelers arriving during the Lunar New Year holiday can spend seven days in a quarantine hotel and the rest at home, the CECC said
By Wu Liang-yi, Lin Hui-chin and Jake Chung / Staff reporters, with staff writer and CNA
A nationwide level 2 COVID-19 alert would be extended two more weeks until Nov. 29, the Central Epidemic Command Center （CECC） said yesterday, as it relaxed measures governing hostess services.
Licensed adult entertainment venues with hosts or hostesses, such as nightclubs, disco halls, bars and massage parlors, would be conditionally allowed to open from Tuesday next week, said Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung （陳時中）, who heads the center.
Employees must receive their first COVID-19 vaccination two full weeks before starting work, and provide a negative COVID-19 test result, either from a rapid screening or polymerase chain reaction （PCR） test, within three days, he said, adding that workers who are not fully vaccinated must test negative for the virus weekly.
Customers would also be required to have had at least one COVID-19 shot two weeks before visiting such venues, he said.
While mask rules would remain the same until Nov. 29, people can remove them while exercising, singing, taking photographs, giving speeches or teaching a class indoors, the center said.
People in the agriculture, forestry, fishery and husbandry industries are also exempt from wearing masks while working in open areas, it said, adding that people can remove their masks while visiting saunas, hot or cold springs, spa facilities or steam rooms.
The center also finalized quarantine rules for people returning for the Lunar New Year holiday, which it called “7+7.”
From Dec. 14 to Feb. 14 next year, people arriving fully vaccinated with vaccines approved for emergency use by Taiwan or the WHO can choose to stay in a quarantine hotel or self-paid centralized quarantine facility for seven days, and then spend the next seven days quarantining at home.
Travelers using this new policy must undergo three PCR tests, including one upon arrival, another before they return home to continue their quarantine and one more at the end of 14 days. They are also required to conduct one rapid screening test while quarantining at home.
During the home quarantine period, they can only stay with family members or relatives who have also been fully vaccinated for at least two weeks, and must ensure that they do not share rooms with others, the CECC said.
Travelers who plan to return home between Dec. 14 and Feb. 14 next year can also opt for a policy announced on Monday, under which they can quarantine at a designated hotel for 10 days and spend the remaining four at home.
The “10+4” policy does not require travelers to be fully vaccinated for at least two weeks.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang, who is the Central Epidemic Command Center’s spokesman, attends a news conference at the center in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Yang Yuan-ting, Taipei Times
