Taipei, June 28 (CNA) Taiwan's Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) has introduced a new regulation on airport pickups, mandating that incoming travelers are allowed to take only government-designated transportation or drive their own vehicles to their quarantine locations.
People who violate the new rule by picking up their incoming friends or relatives at the airport will risk a fine of up to NT$150,000 (US$5,375), the CECC said Sunday.
The regulation, which took immediate effect, was introduced as part of the government's efforts to prevent the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant of the COVID-19 virus, which has been gaining momentum around the world, CECC spokesman Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) told CNA.
He said that since arriving travelers are no longer allowed to quarantine at home, there is no need for airport pickup by friends or relatives.
Chuang was referring to the CECC's regulation, also introduced Sunday, that requires incoming travelers to quarantine only at government centers or designated hotels.
Passengers arriving from Brazil, India, the United Kingdom, Peru, Israel, Indonesia and Bangladesh -- countries deemed as high risk for the Delta variant -- must take a vehicle provided free of cost by the transportation ministry, which will carry them to a government quarantine center, he said.
Travelers from other countries and territories can either drive themselves or hire a government-approved airport transportation vehicle and pay the fare to a designated hotel or a government-run facility, where they must quarantine for 14 days at their own expense, Chuang said.
Under the Communicable Disease Control Act, the fines for violating the CECC's new quarantine and airport pickup regulations range from NT$10,000 to NT$150,000, he said.
The CECC has been tightening its epidemic control measures since eight cases of the Delta variant were recently confirmed in Pingtung County, southern Taiwan. Four other COVID-19 infections in Pingtung, also believed to have been caused by the Delta variant, are being examined, according to the CECC.
