Last update: November 17th, 2021.
Taiwan announced in October that a Taiwanese COVID passport will soon be released, using the EU Digital COVID Certificate (EUDCC) as a blueprint.
A release date has not yet been set, but the Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-Chung has confirmed that the COVID passport for Taiwan is under development.
“We have completed the planning for a digital immunization certificate, which is modeled on that created by the European Union. We will ask the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to assist in matters related to bilateral certification of immunization documents between Taiwan and other nations,” Chen said.
When to expect the COVID passport in Taiwan?
Taiwan is releasing a COVID pass much later than many other countries. For example, all EU member states successfully launched the EUDCC in July.
However, Taiwan has been very successful in keeping COVID infection rates low, and only saw a sudden surge in May. The country now aims towards opening its borders, making COVID passes a necessity.
Chen explained that there is significant red tape that needs to be addressed before the Taiwan COVID pass can go live.
“We have to ensure that other nations can identify an authentic and valid Taiwanese immunization certificate and vice versa. We must also ascertain which vaccine brands are accepted by other nations,” he said.
The goal is that the Taiwan travel pass be recognized across the world to facilitate travel corridors between participating countries.
COVID-19 travel restrictions in Taiwan
Vaccines approved by the WHO for emergency use will be accepted for entrance to Taiwan, unless significant scientific evidence indicates inefficiency. This includes:
- Pfizer-BioNTech
- Moderna
- AstraZeneca
- Johnson & Johnson
- Covishield
- Sinopharm
- Sinovac
Due to the sudden surge in COVID-19 cases spurred on by the Delta variant, people traveling to Taiwan have had to quarantine for 14 days in a government hotel or facility since July.
Borders are not yet open for travel to Taiwan and strict entry regulations remain in place.
Chen also explained that future entrance to Taiwan will be dependent on the epidemiological situation in the country travelers are coming from.
“We will not have enough capacity to handle COVID-19 patients if the borders are completely opened. As such, we must manage people arriving in the nation based on the health risks they pose to the local community, which would depend on the vaccine they have received and the state of the pandemic in the nation they have arrived from,” Chen explained.
New COVID regulations in Taipei could follow
The mayor of Taipei, Ko Wen-Je, addressed the media and explained the rules that might be implemented in Taipei come January.
He hopes that 70% of its citizens will be vaccinated before the Lunar New Year, resulting in the abolition of mask mandates.
“Theoretically, people would not need to wear a mask after having received two doses,” Ko said.
He confirmed the imminent use of the Taiwan vaccine passport and mentioned that it could be linked to the TaipeiPASS app. The app was launched in October 2020 and provides a variety of services in the city.
“People who have not been vaccinated should go get their shots as soon as possible because we will introduce a vaccination passport soon,” Ko warned.
Another regulation that Taiwanese might face is social distancing in restaurants. Vaccinated patrons could freely choose their seating while unvaccinated people would have to dine in a regulated area.
COVID-19 cases and vaccine statistics in Taiwan
The battle against COVID in Taiwan has been enormously successful and for more than a year, the infection count remained under 1500 cases.
A rapid increase in cases in May lasted for roughly a month and peaked at 543 new cases per day.
The spread has since been contained and by late November just over 16,500 positive COVID cases have been recorded. Less than 900 people have died.
Around 10 million people have been fully vaccinated, just over 42.5% of the population