TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan's National Immigration Agency (NIA) announced Tuesday (March 17) that all incoming migrant workers will not be allowed to re-enter Taiwan if they choose to return home.

During the daily press briefing on the country's Wuhan virus (COVID-19) update, Vice Minister of Labor Lin San-kuei (林三貴) said the majority of Taiwan's foreign workers are from Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, and the Philippines, and that the MOL has drawn up preventive measures accordingly. To avoid a large turnover of foreign workers, Lin encouraged employers to consider renewing the contracts of their current workers instead of seeking replacements.

Lin said employers can apply for three-month employment extensions for their workers if their contracts are up during the pandemic. He added that all employers need to take responsibility for workers placed in quarantine as well as present the details of their planned home quarantine locations starting Wednesday (March 18).

The labor minister expressed his hope that expats in Taiwan will postpone their travel plans and that the government will reimburse the workers for any financial losses caused by flight cancelations. He noted that all incoming migrant workers will be picked up by medical professionals upon entering the country before being transported to their employers for a 14-day home quarantine, reported ETtoday.

Lin pointed out that migrant workers who have yet to arrive in Taiwan can only use the Taipei Taoyuan International Airport and Kaohsiung International Airport for entry. Although Lin did not specify that migrant workers cannot re-enter Taiwan after leaving, the NIA said that all migrant workers in Taiwan who travel abroad will no longer be issued a re-entry permit until the pandemic is over, according to Liberty Times.