Hi all, it’s been a while. I still remember how to do a search, and didn’t turn up anything specifically on this question, not even in the massive “Travel Restrictions” thread.
My wife and daughters (all with TW passports) plan to come back to Taiwan over the summer. From the UK which is faring a bit better now on this whole virus thing but I’m not sure whether that nuance has reached the authorities.
My wife heard that quarantine now is 14 days total isolation plus 7 days where you can go out but can’t do very much. EG no summer school for the kids during that last week. Is this true? I saw something in the paper from April about it but could not find any details in English on the BOCA site. And my Chinese reading is about ok for washing machine instructions but not the finer points of bureaucracy.
14 day home quarantine (or hotel quarantine) plus 7 days self-health management. The latter meaning you can go outside but must wear a mask at all times. Further, you should limit going outside, avoid public transit, and monitor health.
Screenshot from my own research last month. Via CDC website I think.
I had seen that info on the CDC site here, though wasn’t sure if it related more to the previous self-monitoring rules for certain low-risk countries. I didn’t see anything on the site about the 14 + 7 rule. Do you have a source for that at all? All I saw was a piece in the Taiwan News in April saying that that was going to happen, but I couldn’t find any government rules or guidance.
Here is the article I saved which clued me into the additional 7-days.
…the system also sends home quarantine related details and notes to users two days before the end of the home quarantine period to remind them to conduct an additional 7-day period of self-health management.
This matches my experience. Was in home quarantine for 14 days, with daily interviews with local police via a phone app. I also received a daily text from the CDC asking me to report my health (I had to respond with one of digits 1-3, with 1 = I’m feeling ok today). In addition, the police called every couple days to check up.
On the 13th day of quarantine (May 13) the police stopped by to confirm that the next day my quarantine period would be up. Nobody mentioned the 7 days of self-health management, not a peep.
However, I continued to get a daily text message from the CDC until May 20. The first day I ignored it, but the text was resent every thirty minutes until I responded. While I didn’t know about the additional 7 days, I just responded every day anyway.
The extra 7 days was no burden. I wore (and wear) a mask whenever I hop in the elevator in my building, so it was no problem. For me the additional 7 days just meant responding to daily texts from CDC.
From the Home Quarantine Notice given to you at TPE airport:
During the period, you should live separately from your family. People who live with you must take appropriate protective measures, including wearing surgical masks, keeping good hygiene habits, and maintaining an appropriate distance (1 meter) as far as possible.
From CDC website (posted May 2):
Such inbound travelers should stay at a quarantine hotel after entry if they live with people 65 years old or older, children 6 years old or under, or persons with chronic diseases (such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes or lung diseases) or if they don’t have a separate room (including a separate bathroom).
Anybody have recommendation on hotel or airbnb to complete the 14-day quarantine? Does the CDC have a list?
I found the Hanns House through the news and they have this page. 2 options of room priced 7500ntd or 8500ntd. Prices is before 1000ntd subsidy. Includes 3 meals. What do you all think?
The school will ask you to observe the 7 days and not send your child to school during that time. Prepare for the wrath of all Taiwanese parents if they found out you broke that rule
@travis-travels, @bojack, and @ma3xiu1, thanks very much for the replies. It’s good to have this confirmed. On the “wrath of all parents” topic, now we have to figure out a big enough place for the family to stay while not incurring the wrath of the local community – but I’ve started another thread for that.
It’s not clear. I should live separately like i can’t stay with them or like another room. It goes on to mention people I live with should take precautions.
I’m currently doing quarantine in Taipei. If you google “quarantine friendly airbnb taipei” you get some hosts that welcome those doing quarantine. I’m in a 4 bedroom place and am so happy to have this spaciousness when stuck indoors. The host made sure I was traveling alone; he said each person doing quarantine needs their own bathroom. I’m using UberEats for all food. The host picks up my trash when I contact him.
That’s a good point. My wife rented a 2 bedroom place for my quarantine. It was fine, but I was going a little bonkers by the last day. Was a big relief to have it over so I could go outside.
I understand it to mean that you have your own bedroom and bathroom.
I’ve never seen it specified that you cannot go into other rooms at all, like the kitchen, but I assume it should be kept to a minimum. Basically, stay in your room, disinfect common areas like kitchen after use and maintain social distance from family / flatmates and use a mask outside of your private room.
Again, this is just my understanding based on the stuff I’ve seen posted.
Based on tando’s link, the 1000 NTD is a daily subsidy to the operator of the hotel right? And it seems if you do home quarantine you can apply for the subsidy. Hanns House looks nice but for 7500-8500NTD and not being able to take advantage of the rest of the hotel, I’d probably go for one of the cheaper ones on the list say S Hotel is 3800NTD/night no meals or 5000/NTD/night with meals. Most of the options on the link seem quite good if you are OK with a single room. If there is a standalone Airbnb with willing host and say a patio that you can get to without leaving the “house door” area that would be ideal, to get fresh air. Kind of fascinating how Airbnb apparently removed keyword search in 2016, so there are only two places easily Googleable
A blog post with explanation of the quarantine process in Chinese including special taxis, etc.
Seems like a ripoff. Of course, no daily housekeeping. They force you to take their meal plan and if you order ubereats, they’ll hold onto your food until the designated feeding times: 6am, 12pm, 6pm.
Either get a cheaper hotel or get more freedom with an airbnb.
I get 4 easily googleable airbnb results right now (I’m in one of them). Agoda Homes has some other options, too. I remember doing a search of all Taipei and scrolling; there were a few places with quarantine in the title. The Belgian couple touring Taiwan also did airbnb; if you contact them via YouTube they’ll give out their host info. Also, one could contact 10 hosts with the same message asking if they’re ok with those doing quarantine. Basically, airbnb is doable. I’m spending about 60 usd/day + 10-15 usd on food. I’ve even been cooking when I want by ordering Carrefour, because sometimes I just want simple stuff like eggs on rice with no additional flavorings.
I will say that Uber Eats basically covers everything you need. I got the Uber Eats Pass for 120NT for 1 month of no-fee delivery (minimum 200NT per order).
Carrefour, RT-Mart, City Super, and other grocery stores are on Eats for delivery too, albeit with limited inventory.
