#Taiwan is still treating #Covid differently to many other countries. Before I could return to Taiwan, I had to "announce" my return to the health authorities. Everyone was informed about this when leaving Taiwan.
Basically they wanted to know where I had been, how I felt and what my #quarantine arrangements would be. If those data are accepted, I should get an SMS as soon as I turn my phone on after arrival in Taiwan. I didn't, because someone forgot to send it...
There are only two arriving flights a day now on Kaohsiung airport and the whole airport has become a kind of Covid parkour, with health workers in protective gear manning several stations. Right after we left the plane we had to show the SMS mentioned above, which contained a link to a HTML page with a barcode and some data, that was our "multipass" for the following stations.
After immigration followed a PCR test, where I was also given two quick test kits, then we could get our baggage (The parkour had led through that hall before.), were strongly reminded not to try to smuggle any meat products or fruits into the country (But customs wasn't interested in checking my chocolate trove.) and arrived in the - yes, arrival hall. Barcode check again, address check, taxi or private transportation? (No, public transport was not an option.) Unfortunately my phone and I were occupied with the procedures, so I didn't take any photos there on the airport.
I took a quarantine taxi home (I'm living sufficiently isolated, so I didn't need a hotel.) and received a checkup call the same day. Next day the person called again while standing outside my place with a "quarantine bag".
Kaohsiung city gives every person going into quarantine some kind of welcome pack with several kinds of edibles, powder for drinkables and instant noodles.
Oh, I forgot alcohol, masks, thermometer card and the motivational letter from the mayor, to the tune of "we acknowledge and appreciate your willingness for solitude to protect friends, family and the general population..." The quarantine scheme is now "3+4", meaning three days of absolute quarantine. After that you can go outside shortly to buy necessary items, but only if your quick test showed negative. Believe it or not, that was the absolutely first time I did a quick test - and the airport was my first PCR test. It just had never been necessary in Taiwan.
1.5 days left in quarantine. I don't think I will keep many of the items from the quarantine pack. I had stocked up before I left for Germany, so I didn't need anything anyway, plus most of those I don't usually consume. Yes, this is a huge difference to how other countries treat the pandemic, I just witnessed that in Germany and Finnland. And frankly, I prefer it this way.
