TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan will inspect people leaving the island to ensure they are not breaking a temporary ban on exporting face masks amid an outbreak of the new coronavirus which started in China, but people carrying them for personal use will be exempted.
Taiwan, which has close economic and cultural links with China even though political ties are strained, has reported five cases of the coronavirus and has stepped up inspections at airports and stopped most Chinese visitors from coming.
A total of 81 people have died, all in China.
Last week Taiwan’s government announced a one-month ban on the export of specialist masks designed to be used for medical personnel, saying it had to look after the needs of its own people first.
Many pharmacies in Taiwan have reported shortages of face masks since the island reported its first case a week ago.
In a statement on Monday, Taiwan’s customs administration said people could take masks out with them if they were for personal use.
“Customs will judge the reasonable number for personal use according to the circumstances of the number of accompanying people, the number of travel days, and the tourist area,” it said in a statement.
The inspections appear aimed at stopping travelers from Taiwan, whether Taiwanese citizens or others, from taking the masks to China for resale, as China is facing tight supplies due to the rapid rise in coronavirus case numbers.
Taiwan’s official Central News Agency said that over the Lunar New Year period that means each person can only take out five boxes.
Taiwan returns to work on Thursday after the week-long holiday.
Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama
