rrz518

Looking at a May 2023 trip. Where are masks still required?

Are they mandated on flights into and out of TPE?

Thanks

YariGuy

Most mask mandates were removed on Feb. 20. There are exceptions:

MRT / bus
Hospitals
Certain zones in airports (airside, after security)
Flights (I believe)

Most people are still wearing masks though, even outdoors.

PAX_fips

What type of mask - FFP2 or less?

YariGuy

No one cares. Could be made of lace.

adrianlondon

Hardly saw any N95 type masks; most wore surgical ones, or some kind of re-usable thing. Almost everyone wearing one wore it properly.

I flew TPE to HKG two days ago and was surprised to be told to wear one before going into the security queue at the airport, considering at the check-in area no one seemed to care. Confirms what YariGuy posted above.

I wore my mask to get onto the flight but took it off as we taxied to the runway and didn't put it on again. As is already known, masks aren't required in HK so definitely not needed at the airport. I think I wore one to get onto the plane (HKG to Paris on Cathay) but don't remember. I was given one to wear when flying TO HK from Paris which was almost immediately taken off so I could drink the pre-flight champagne. I wore it on and off until I went to sleep then didn't bother again. Living in Europe it just seems a distant memory, even though it wasn't actually that long ago that we wore them here too.

Everyone on the MRT (Taipei) was wearing masks, but people are starting to not wear them outside or even in shops. I heard that kids in school still get tested every day and have to wear a mask.

ithinkurdumb

Mostly correct except that masks are required indoor on all forms of public transit and stations (including airports regardless airside or landslide), unless eating/drinking/taking pictures.

Mask mandate applies to all flights into, out of, and within Taiwan. But my understanding is that pandemic prevention command center (?) doesn’t have authority over flights leaving Taiwan that are operated by foreign carriers.

Masks are also required in healthcare facilities. Mask mandates for schools drops tomorrow (March 6).

Venues might enact their own mask requirements, but I haven’t seen any.

Skyman65

You heard wrong about daily testing. And as was mentioned above, school mask mandates end tomorrow.

uanj

Yep, this is exactly my experience. Even if you are taking the high speed rail from an above ground station which is basically just a covered platform you still need a mask. When I flew into Taipei last month on UA suprisingly a fair number of passengers did not have masks as we went to deplane and UA FAs had to hand them out.

ithinkurdumb

The open-air platform (HSR and subways) is probably exempted from the mask mandate, as TW CDC’s definition of indoor is “surrounded by all six sides”. But given that you need to pass an indoor area to reach the platforms, I guess most mask-averting people just don’t bother taking the masks off (or just never put one on when entering the station).

It really varies flight by flight I guess. Flew in on 871 two weeks ago, and around 3/4 of the pax had their masks on most of the time, and probably slightly more of the pax in PE/E had their masks on when boarding.

FlyingSloth

Today boarded MRT from Linkou to Taipei... Station attendent woman comes running after me SIR SIR SIR HELLO HELLO YOU NEED TO WEAR A MASK!!!!!!

Open air Linkou station.. I said ok I thought it's just on trains sorry

Stupidity

ithinkurdumb

Businesses can enact their own requirements as long as they are stricter than the nation-wide mandate. For Taoyuan Metro, masks are required on trains and in the paid area: 桃園捷運 最新公告 >【新聞稿】20日室內口罩令鬆綁 搭機捷仍要佩戴口罩 (tymetro.com.tw). Taipei Metro and Taiwan Highspeed Rail also have the same policy, requiring masks on trains and in the paid area.

uanj

Yeah, that's in line with the CDC policy on public transportation which I found out extends to ferries as well no matter how open air they might be:

I. Masks should be worn at all times indoors in the places/venues listed below. These places include:
A. Health care facilities: healthcare, medical, and senior welfare institutions, long-term care facilities, veterans home, children and youth services, and care institutions for physically or mentally disabled people.
B. Public transportation and designated vehicles: trains, ships, aircraft, and other vehicles and stations/terminals.

Taiwan CDC Mask Rules

Someone above mentioned carveouts for open air places but the CDC has no mention of any such carveouts.

ithinkurdumb

The definition of indoor space was defined by the pandemic command center (?) on a press conference in November. Any place that is surrounded by four walls counts as indoor; otherwise it's outdoor. As for ferries, the CDC announcement actually specifically called out that the interior of cars, trains, boats, and aircrafts are indoor space. So masks are not mandatory on an open air deck on a ferry. But again its operator can have their own stricter rules.

hkskyline

I saw plenty of signs at Taipei's MRT stations to mask up or else risk a fine. That was the only indoor space with such signage that I've encountered.

stmaus

Very strange, you'd think Taiwan would follow the science.