Taiwan will form its first travel bubble with Palau, an ally in the Pacific region, enabling people to travel between the places starting next month without the need for COVID-19 quarantine.

The arrangement with the South Pacific island would be launched on April 1 at the earliest, allowing up to 220 travelers each week, Taipei said in its announcement on Wednesday.

Taiwanese residents must sign up with tour groups and meet certain health conditions to qualify for the scheme, said Chen Shih-chung, commander of the Central Epidemic Command Center. They were to avoid contact with local people during their trip, he said.

Eligibility would hinge on not having left the Taiwanese border in the past half a year. They must not have a history of being asked to quarantine in the last two months or a COVID-19 infection in the past three months.

Travelers were required to take a virus test before leaving Taiwan and upon returning, Chen said.

The authorities would operate two flights per week in the first two weeks, with a maximum of 110 people on each plane, he added.

Earlier, Taiwan suspended foreign travel despite being one of the world’s most successful examples of combating COVID-19. The upcoming travel bubble will be Asia-Pacific’s first such arrangement.

Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr. would take a chartered flight to the self-governed island on March 28 and return home on April 1 on the inaugural flight, Taiwanese foreign minister Joseph Wu said. He would become the first foreign head of state to visit Taiwan following the year-long pandemic.

Taiwan has kept the disease largely under control because of early and effective preventive measures. It has recorded about 990 cases of infection and 10 deaths from COVID-19.

Palau is one of Taipei’s remaining 15 diplomatic allies after Beijing demanded that most other countries not recognize the island’s sovereignty. The country has reported no COVID-19 patients. The other East Asian and Pacific countries which still maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan are Nauru, Tuvalu and the Marshall Islands.

Australia and New Zealand originally planned to implement their travel bubble in the first quarter of this year, but put the arrangement on hold in February after a new variant was found in Auckland.

Plans for a travel bubble between Hong Kong and Singapore were also suspended after the former reported a spike in coronavirus cases last November.

Click here for Chinese version

---------------------------------

Apple Daily’s all-new English Edition is now available on the mobile app: bit.ly/2yMMfQE

To download the latest version,

iOS: bit.ly/AD_iOS

Android: bit.ly/AD_android

Or search Appledaily in App Store or Google Play