The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC ) announced that the nationwide Level 3 epidemic alert will be extended on July 13 , while some restrictions will be partially relaxed. In response to this announcement, Tainan City Mayor Huang Wei-che announced on July 8 at the Tainan City Epidemic Prevention Press Conference that historic sites, cultural institutions, and art venues will be conditionally opened starting from July 13 (venues that usually take Tuesday off can reopen on Wednesday). Visitors will be allowed to these venues under the premise of maintaining epidemic prevention measures and controlling strictly visitor flow.
In accordance with the relevant guidelines of the Executive Yuan and the CECC, the city government has announced the opening of the following venues in Tainan City: historic sites, cultural centers, cultural parks, art galleries, museums, local cultural halls, and venues commissioned by the Bureau of Cultural Affairs. These venues must comply with the following regulations:
- Continue to enforce all the existing epidemic prevention measures, including mask-wearing, temperature-taking, text message real-name registration system, alcohol disinfection, social distancing, and strengthened environmental disinfection measures.
- These venues must control strictly their visitor traffic and flow in both outdoor and indoor areas. For indoor areas, the standard is set at 2.25 square meters per person with a cap of 100 people. For outdoor areas, depending on their sizes, there should be a maximum number of visitors capped to ensure a safe distance between people.
- Catering facilities should follow the relevant regulations by the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA). Outdoor eating and drinking areas must strictly follow epidemic prevention guidelines, such as the use of partitions or separate seating arrangement. These areas must also be separated from those where food and beverage are prohibited.
According to CECC's latest announcement, libraries and other indoor reading areas will remain closed, which also applies to the 44 public libraries in Tainan. If citizens want to borrow books, they should reserve the books online first and pick them up at the one-stop windows.
Given that all public gatherings remain suspended, this restriction also applies to cultural and art performance programs and activities, which will last till the end of July. For performance groups who need venues for rehearsal or recording purposes, they are welcomed to apply to the Bureau of Culture Affairs to borrow and utilize these performing venues.