Hello.
Has anybody traveled recently out of Taiwan and back?
How is the mandatory PCR testing for Covid done at the airport in Taiwan, at arrival? Through nose swabs or can you get it done through the mouth?
Do they go deep with the nose swabs?
How long do you have to wait for the result?
Thank you for anybody who answers.
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I flew in to Taoyuan two weeks ago. I’ve heard some people were getting saliva tests at the end of the airport process (before going to the taxi stand), but for mine it was done at the beginning and it was a nose swab. Maybe they considered London higher risk, I dunno.
Immediately after getting off the plane we went into a waiting room where they called everyone on the flight by name, put a sticker with a number on our clothes, gave us the test kit, and then we queued for the station where they take the sample. The nose swab was fast and painless for me, I had worse ones in London.
They made everyone wait for the results which takes around an hour but could be longer. After that we continued on to SIM cards and immigration.
So maybe waiting 15-20 minutes for everyone to get off the plane, another 15 minutes to get all the samples, and then 1 hour for the results.
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You’d need to have to wait for your luggage to be disinfected (which in my case took around 50 minutes, last November) anyway, so the time waiting for the result doesn’t make a difference.
Hi.
Thank you for a very detailed response.
Did they go deep with the nose swabs?
Good point @FenjaJie , because of the covid test waiting I didn’t even notice whether my luggage needed time for disinfecting.
@Lori_CoNutri they went a bit deep but that part was super fast just in and out. Honestly I prefer this over them shoving a swab to the back of my throat and hitting my gag reflex.
My experience in Taiwan (airport and hospitals) is that they try to swab a bit of your brain while they’re at it.
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Thank you for your help.
I really appreciate it.
Have a good day.
Twitter thread earlier today from someone who just came back to Taiwan:
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Hello.
Thank you for posting this!
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Landed on Tuesday and am currently typing this from my quarantine hotel.
After de-boarding they funneled everyone into the room that you sit in at the gate that you wait to board your plane in.
We were greeted by staff in full bunnie suits as we all sat down together
They started calling everyone up one-by-one to get in line for the PCR test. You get assigned a sticker with a number on it – it seemed like Taiwanese passports went first, then ARC, and then I’m not sure what the order was after that (they used my Chinese name on my ARC which I found a little amusing)
They made quick work of the PCR tests for the most part – got the swab up the nose which did make the eyes water but I also wouldn’t say was super painful. I’m actually kind of impressed at the efficiency of being able to swab and process 110 tests so quickly.
After the swab, everyone has to wait in the same room for the results which took ~1.5 hours to come back. No one in my cohort tested positive so I’m not sure what happens if you do.
After that you go through the single lonely immigration gate (was the only one there) and collect your bags as normal. They have ropes setup as you exit customs to guide you to the quarantine taxi where they hose you down with alcohol.
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3 weeks ago arriving from the US I took a saliva test outside before you get your quarantine taxi. No waiting for any result. I wonder if it’s all changed back to nose swabs directly after deplaning now? Why would there be different procedures? Because Taiwan?
they’re getting IQ data samples, I hear
Hi,
I really appreciate you writing down your experience. It’s very helpful.
Good night.
Hi.
Apparently they’re doing nose swabs now.
Thank you for replying to me.
Funny enough they also called my Chinese name first and then English. I hadn’t given it to the airlines or on my quarantine declarations so they definitely pulled the data from my ARC.
And afterwards the woman who took my sample smiled and made a (nice) comment about my name.
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Hello,
Has anybody flown to Taiwan in the last 2,3 weeks?
Were you required to take a PCR test prior to entering Taiwan or did you just take the saliva test in the Taiwan airport?
Thank you to the people who answer. Much appreciated.
My mom flew in last week from the UK.
PCR test 48 hours before flight departure.
Saliva test on arrival.
From June 15, it will be 3 days quarantine, followed by 4 strict days of self health management where you can only go out for necessities. Until then it’s 7 days quarantine followed by 7 days of much less restrictive self health management where you are only advised to not go to crowded places or eat in restaurants. Bear in mind the day you arrive in Taiwan is considered day 0 of quarantine. Additionally, if you do the 3 days quarantine in a quarantine hotel, you’ll need to also stay there for the remaining 4 days of self health management.
However, all of this is irrelevant if you don’t have an entry visa or ARC, as Taiwan is not open to tourists.
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is she doing home quarantine with you? or hotel quarantine
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Home quarantine in my apartment, but we are staying in a relative’s place. I don’t think we could have stayed there with her since our apartment only has one bathroom
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Arrived June 13 (Of course 2 days before the quarantine change).
They give you the saliva test kit before immigration but they make you spit and collect the samples outside right before you get on the taxi.
PCR within 48 hours was required by the airline.
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