TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Kaohsiung's health department on Wednesday (Dec. 22) announced that returnees who opted for the "7 plus 7" plan will receive a NT$1,500 subsidy for the extra seven days they will have to stay in an epidemic prevention hotel.

Under the "7 plus 7" quarantine plan, people returning from abroad who received two COVID vaccine doses 14 days before arrival only need to spend seven days in an epidemic prevention hotel, while they can spend the last seven days of quarantine at home. However, there was recently an incident in which a traveler was forced to spend the full 14 days in an epidemic prevention hotel after a fellow passenger on their flight to Taiwan tested positive for COVID.

The resident complained to the Kaohsiung City Department of Health that they had to pay an additional NT$10,000 for the extra number of days in the hotel. In response, the health department announced that if a person is required to spend an extra week in an epidemic prevention hotel because a fellow passenger had tested positive for the virus, it will provide a stipend of NT$1,500 per day for a "standard room" for the additional seven days, reported ETtoday.

However, it stressed that it will not cover additional expenses beyond standard hotel services. The guest will still need to pay for the delivery of meals or if they opt for a room upgrade.