The countries that fight against COVID-19 miraculously (Taiwan)
7th March, 2021
Source: 中華民國外交部
(A translation from the original Spanish version)
TAIWAN: Precaution, fast response and preventive measures
(Teresa Aburto)
The situation between Europe and Asia is different, no matter in culture or custom. The policies and methods taken against COVID-19 have to adapt to time and local conditions in respective nation. However, the agile actions, sharp decisions, a well-accomplished administrative execution, the fair and reasonable distribution of resources as well as the transparency of information could serve as a textbook example for other countries. The Minister of Health and Welfare in Taiwan, Chen Shih-chung, explained by e-mail to EL MUNDO how a country with more than 23 million people has only 9 reported death and less than 1,000 confirmed cases since the virus was detected around the world. Without the need of lockdowns. The keys — “facing the pandemic with precaution, fast response as well as an early and preventive measure.”
However, COVID-19 is not the only virus that stemmed from Asia. “We did combat SARS in 2003, which helped us in the swift reaction this time,” recounted Chen, elaborating the strategy proposed by the Tsai Ing-Wen Government last year, which can be broken down into three pillars. The first — and the most fundamental, given Taiwan’s proximity to China — a “rigorous strategy of border control for risked regions” that requires a negative PCR test result from travelers as well as an individual quarantine. Secondly, a “community prevention strategy” based on monitoring the cases; with the help of high-tech and big data, the management and tracking are carried out, they even further fine those who violate the isolation or quarantine policies. Boosting one of the best healthcare systems in the world, the third pillar is precisely “to strengthen the healthcare system.” “We enhance the capacity of hospitals to better confront the pandemic, reinforce infection controls as well as make sure the supply, production and distribution of resources are decent.”
In the mid-term, the goal is to get 65% of the population vaccinated and gain immunity. “We have secured about 20 million doses so far. If all goes well, 15 million of our residents will have received the first batch of vaccine by the end of February, 2022.”
Refer to Pedro Wu’s Medium for the Traditional Chinese (Taiwan) version of this article.
