TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Travelers arriving from overseas from Feb. 7 will no longer have to take a rapid home COVID-19 test before going outside if they do not show any symptoms of infection, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said on Wednesday (Feb. 1).

The previous day, the health authorities also announced that compulsory saliva PCR testing for arrivals from China would no longer be required from Feb. 7 as their COVID-positive rate fell below 2%.

Under the current “0+7” formula, people who arrive in Taiwan need to test negative on a rapid test the day of their arrival or the following day before being allowed to leave their home or hotel. The same rule applied to people listed as a contact of a COVID case. From Feb. 7, they will only have to take a test if they show COVID symptoms.

At the same time, the number of free rapid test kits available to arrivals will be reduced from four to one, as it has become easy to find antigen tests across the country, the health authorities said.

The CECC said the Feb. 7 changes were in response to the global slowdown in virus infections and the capacity of the local health sector to deal with new cases.