On January 15, 2020, the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced that COVID-19 was added as an infectious disease under the fifth category and is subject to the requirements under the Communicable Disease Control Act and related regulations. Taiwan Centers for Disease Control published many regulations on the prevention of COVID-19 (See Here), including the Special Ordinance on Prevention and Relief of COVID-19. Enterprises may be able to apply for subsidies from the government if it is severely affected by the COVID-19 outbreak.
On April 21, 2020, the updated Special Ordinance specifies that the subsidies will be exempted from income tax. The Regulations for the relief and revitalization measures are also formulated by the Ministry of Labor, Ministry of Transportation and Communications, Ministry and Economic Affairs for Businesses, and Ministry of Interior, etc..
On May 15, 2020, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications also published Directions on the Loan for Shipping Industry Impacted by COVID-19 (See Here) and (See Here).
The Ministry of Health and Welfare also issued the Guidelines for large-scale public gatherings in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak and the Guidelines for Prevention of SARS-CoV-2 Infection.
On April 13, 2020, the Ministry of Health and Welfare published the Precautions for Quarantine at Home. The person quarantined at home shall keep a record on the temperature and health condition. If there are any suspected symptoms, the quarantined person shall notify the local health department and cannot take public transportation to the hospital.
On June 1, 2020, they updated the list of restrictions for all kinds of people coming to Taiwan. All people coming to Taiwan are required to self-quarantine for 14 days at home (See Here). Starting from June 22, 2020, Taiwan will shorten the quarantine time for certain travelers who are from countries/regions with low or medium infection risk and have no travel history of other countries/regions within 14 days before boarding. The loose requirements only apply to business travelers who will stay in Taiwan for less than three months. (More Info)
In consideration of the low risk of domestic COVID-19 epidemic, the Ministry of Health and Welfare plans to loosen the prevention measures after June 7, 2020 (More Info).
Employers should continue to check with relevant authorities for the latest information:
– COVID-19 Epidemic Prevention Critical Decision Website (Website)
– Ministry of Health and Welfare (Website)
– Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (Website)