Taiwan further tightens restrictions on China visitors due to virus

Taiwan on Sunday further tightened restrictions on visitors from China to prevent the spread of a new coronavirus, suspending entry for many apart from business travelers and a few other exceptions like people married to Taiwanese. Taiwan has close economic and cultural links with China and has so far reported three cases of the new coronavirus, which started in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in Hubei province and where most of the 56 deaths to date have been.

Taiwan has already stopped Chinese tour groups from visiting and has now banned all people from Hubei from coming to the island. Most other Chinese citizens will not be allowed in for the time being, aside from people involved in fighting the virus or on humanitarian grounds, the island's newly established Central Epidemic Command Centre said in a statement.

Chinese business travelers will also be permitted entry, but have to agree to have their health monitored for two weeks after entry, the command center said. Spouses from Hubei will have to stay in quarantine at home for the same period, it said. Chinese students studying in Taiwan will have to postpone their return to the island for two weeks, it added, while students from Hubei cannot return at all until further notice.