Wouldnât it be useful to have a sticky on International Travel called âUpdatesâ?
The situation seems to be changing every dayâespecially relating to the booking of PCR tests. It would be good to know where to look rather than needing to scroll through tens/hundreds of irrelevant posts in the hope of finding new information.
Personally, I have an eye condition that makes the above procedure very painful. But I am sure it would save everyone a lot of time.
Thanks moderator for the flexibility. Things that would be useful for me (and others too, I guess) would be news about best places for PCR test, places to avoid, problems faced with booking PCR, etc. Also, sudden changes to flight schedules or airport procedures, etc. Anything that might be useful to someone considering international travel during this phase of covid.
I flew TPE to SFO recently, which had an added technical stop in Guam. If I understood the explanation correctly, the technical stop was added because non-TW based flight crews are no longer allowed to stay overnight in TW. So for this flight, they were flying to TPE with a Guam-based crew and then in Guam the Guam-based crew gets off and the SFO-based crew gets on. No passengers get on or off.
Sure this changes the economics of keeping certain routes going (flight was 16 hours instead of 12) so if the situation continues to deteriorate, Iâm guessing airlines might have to make adjustments to these routes, like reducing flights where the costs are higher and/or demand is decreased.
Maybe something to think about when planning travel.
I would think getting a PCR test 72 hours before travel is becoming an issue with travellers. I have wasted a lot of money on my phone being told that tests are not being conducted for foreigners. I do not speak Chinese very well, so this is another issue. I live in Taoyuan and have decided to try and get the test in Taoyuan, Hsinchu or even Taichung. That seems safer than being directed to New Taipei where you might actually pick up what you are trying to prove you donât have.
Can ammyone sugest a good procedure for finding a place that will give a test right now?
I got my test at a walk-in hospital thingie in Zhonghe, although I had an appointment booked a few days later in Taipei. I just wanted to get out a few days earlier. Not a good experience but what can you do? Just pay attention to the people around you and protect yourself the best you can.
I think youâre going to have to go down the list of hospitals that offer self pay COVID tests and make phone calls. If you donât speak Chinese, try to find someone who can help you.
Unfortunately I donât think itâs realistic to expect that youâll be able to do a test in a completely âsafeâ place at this point.
Yeah, me too, thatâs why I gave up on it. The Tzu Chi one was very easy, although for some reason it wouldnât accept my entire name so I just used my last initial. Taipei Veteranâs hospital in Shipai was the easiest - they have an online form and bookings for a new day open every night at midnight (I called and asked). You can book 13 days in advance, but you have to be quick. Itâs like getting tickets to a rock concert - all the bookings filled up in about an hour so try exactly at midnight 13 days before you want the test.
And if there is an online page for booking a PCR at the Veteranâs Hospital. I canât see it. But the pageâin Englishâis very long and gives exhaustive details about the departments.
Did you try this? Register for out-of-pocket PCR testing for COVID-19 (vghtpe.gov.tw)
The first page lists all the requirements, scroll down and click âI understandâ and then follow the prompts. Starting at midnight, they should open is for the next day (June 8th in this case). I couldnât figure it out either, so I called them and they were really helpful. I was able to get someone on the phone who spoke really good English. Also, MOHW hospital in Xinchuang (sorry I donât know a link right now) does walk - ins and I was able to talk to someone there in English. She told me come before 7 am on the day that you want the test, have your passport, plane ticket and the application form ready and you can do it that day. Thatâs going to be my last resort if for some reason Veterans cancels my appointment. Hope that helps you. I know how discouraging it is to try to find an appointment.
Thanks for taking the time. I donât have my flight ticket yet. I aim on flying around 17 June. But I want to do my research to avoid a last second dash. The situation is changing and while it was probably easy 10 days ago, it is now difficult.
What was the first hospital? Is it the one you are using? Both in Taichung?
No, they are both in Taipei. Iâm not sure about hospitals in Taichung, sorry. But you definitely do need to book an appointment 13 days in advance at most hospitals, so I would get a few in mind and then closer to your flight start trying to book. Or maybe some you can even book now, I saw a few that were booking 3-5 weeks in advance. (For instance, Tri Services in Neihu is booked for the next 5 weeks!)
Show up early, wait in line, get your test, get the results same day or next. Yes, itâs in Zhonghe. But at this point my opinion is that you donât have many/any âsafeâ hospital options anyway, and the longer you wait, the higher the risk that going to a hospital gets even riskier.
True enough. But I am just not sure whatâs going on in New Taipei right now and I would avoid going there until I had exhausted all possibilities in Taoyuan. In extremis I would go to Taichung fir a day.
A consideration is how expensive all this phoning is. I have spent 1000 NTD in a couple of days, getting nowhere.