It does seem like the text equivalent of someone jumping up and down saying “ooh! ooh! It probably was COVID that got this one!”
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That would be me. I am responsible for all of the highlighting and bold print on the English translation. I do this to highlight cases of importance, such as the man in his 30s with no apparent medical history and also young children that pass away purportedly from Covid. But I really like to highlight some of the stupid shit I see as it is my way of ridiculing the often times ridiculous reporting of the cases.
For example, whenever I see femur fracture as a chronic medical ailment I highlight that because it seems so ridiculous that that would be considered a chronic medical problem. I mean how many times can you fracture your freaking femur? It’s an ongoing and chronic medical problem? REALLY?
So, my ridicule today is regarding “respiratory symptoms”. I mean no shit! Covid causes respiratory symptoms?! Who would’ve thought! Even more stupid than “asthma” vs “respiratory asthma”. Seriously. Is there a difference?
Could they have been any more arbitrary by stating “respiratory symptoms”? I mean, why don’t they just say “felt unwell” for all symptoms? Ends up being the same shit anyway! “Got Covid, felt like shit, died”.
Anyway, we should be drawing down the daily pressers soon. I was surprised we had one today as November 29th and 30th they skipped them without notice of any kind.
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I really wonder if they on purpose left out shopping/building when the talk about inside? Because their examples are strictly public transport on including. That could mean that they on purpose leave it open for interpretation if a 7-11 or PX-Mart is inside or outside?
Anyhow if you livestream or film anything is possible. Yesterday when me and my friends went playing beerpong into a Carrefour to restock on beer not wearing masks, we were actually followed by a couple of thousand people on two livestreams. It’s such a ridiculous rule that we wanted to highlight it. What can be more dangerous than some drunks doing sports inside a supermarket (we were playing beerpong riding bicycles - yes all pretty solid cyclists, some on Taiwan national team) and many people started gathering around us chearing. Also we gave a speach about how masks suck in English and Chinese (oh and we pushed the bikes to the market - because the alcohol level was far above the legal limit but that doesn’t apply to inside a private place and we first asked one of the employees if it’s okay). But then people at midnight in a Carrefour are much different fold to during the day.
The outdoor mask mandate didn’t exist for some months during 2021 or am I wrong. Was it actually required Late 2021 to early 2022? I think that headline is wrong. The only time it really seemed to be enforced was the first outbreak April-June 2021. That time you really got scolded all the time outdoors if not wearing your mask (properly).
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At least the media are making an effort to get the message out there. Perhaps some people genuinely haven’t heard.
Is that stream still available?
Sounds like a winner.
The media everywhere seem keen to re-write the past. The mask mandate hasn’t been in place for very long, I think. It just seems like groundhog day.
My recollection is the same as yours - the “masks everywhere” mandate was introduced and enforced in early 2022. IIRC you had to wear one inside stores and on transport from mid-2021, but enforcement was sporadic.
No we didn’t leave it online, only watch live, not that someone claims it was a demonstration which would be against the law…
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Outdoors mask mandate existed during the uncontrolled outbreaks as far as I remember. So 2021 late April to??? And then again from sometime in 2022. Mid 2020 to early 2021 had no mask mandate at all I seem to remember
It was on-again, off-again, as I recall. One week we all had to wear masks because we were at warning level 2.65, the next week we were at warning level 2.31 and could take our masks off again.
I’m pretty sure they didn’t go full-on with the mask obsession until “cases” started taking off in the early part of this year. And people were definitely more relaxed about it all because Taiwan was still “COVID free”.
Are incoming passengers required to take any tests before or after
arrival now?
Family visiting soon.
There is no pre-flight test requirement. They give you a box of COVID rapid tests as you exit the airport, but as far as I can tell nobody cares if you actually use them. It’s all pretty much “normal” apart from a few bozos in the obligatory medical gowns.
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None required, even back to the old “on-line arrival form”, as distinct from the Health one, no need for a TW SIM Card either.
And I still have my (unopened) box of free tests from when I arrived 3 weeks ago.
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Can you point me to this online arrival form so I can show then how to do it?
They are old and not very tech oriented.
I wasn’t given an arrival form when i arrived.
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It’s not needed. It was cancelled in November. They can just get on the plane with their passports and nothing else to worry about.
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This is the link.
But it seems that is not required for those with Resident Cards (ARC/APRC). The airline didn’t offer the paper version, so maybe it has been completely done away with.
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Oh those? If the airline doesn’t hand them out, you can find them in the immigration area.
That link was dead from when the borders were shut back in March 2020 until they opened again in October 2022 - I was wondering what the deal was when I came back and tried it again and it worked.
When I was a tourist, I just wrote the card stating where i was staying, personal info etc… on the plane, but that was many years ago.