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TAIPEI: Taiwan to restrict the number of Indonesian workers coming to the island starting this week, following an increase in the number of COVID-19 infections among migrant workers arriving from the Southeast Asian country, the government said Monday (November 30).
Taiwan is home to more than 250,000 migrant workers from Indonesia, which has the highest number of virus infections and deaths in Southeast Asia.
While early and effective prevention measures have helped the island keep the pandemic under control, with no local transmission for more than 200 days, it has faced a steady increase in the number of imported cases.
READ: Indonesia Reports Record Daily Increase in COVID-19 Cases
READ: COVID-19 cases in Indonesia exceed half a million mark
More than 70 Indonesians who come to work in Taiwan, mostly as domestic workers, have tested positive since the beginning of this month, government figures show, often while still in mandatory 14-day quarantine.
The Taiwan Epidemic Central Command Center said it would suspend the entry of Indonesian workers from December 4-17 and consider whether to resume entry from December 18, but limiting the number to half of what was expected.
Further action will depend on the situation, he added.
Twenty of the 24 new cases reported on Monday come from Indonesia, Taiwan said. A total of 103 people are in isolation or being treated in a hospital for the disease in Taiwan today.
Starting next month, Taiwan will tighten entry requirements for all arrivals, requiring proof of negative evidence from nearly everyone, including Taiwanese who previously did not have to present such evidence.
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