Taiwan and Palau set to open quarantine-free 'travel bubble'

Taiwan will open its first quarantine-free "travel bubble" next week, allowing tour groups to travel to and from the tiny Pacific nation of Palau, one of Taipei's 15 remaining diplomatic allies. After a four-day visit to Taiwan starting Sunday, Palau's President Surangel Whipps Jr. will return home with a group of Taiwanese tourists on the first bubble flight. Tour groups will be able to visit both locations for up to eight days. Both Taiwan and Palau have been successful in preventing the spread of COVID-19, but have been largely closed to international visitors since March last year. Taiwan is a three-and-a-half-hour flight from Palau, an archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean that is home to about 18,000 people, clear waters and coral reefs. Taiwanese officials have said they are in discussions about possible other travel bubbles with Singapore, Japan, South Korea and Vietnam. Taiwan is also working on a "sports bubble" for athletes who will compete in a baseball qualifier for the Tokyo Olympics in Taichung in June. This could enable foreign players to quarantine for five days instead of the usual 14.<br/>