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The island of 23 million inhabitants reported the last case with local transmission on April 12, during Catholic Holy Week.
So far this Thursday, it has registered a total of 553 cases, of which only 55 with community transmission. 7 deaths from Covid-19 have been reported.
By Catholic Easter, 1.7 million people had been infected worldwide and 110,000 deaths had been reported. Now there are 45 million cases and almost 1.2 million deaths.
Although the second wave hits many countries hard, reporting thousands to tens of thousands of cases daily, Taiwan is far from that, a success all the more important since it has done so without strict closures.
In addition, and without drastic restrictions on civil rights, as did China, another country that now controls the new coronavirus, despite the fact that the pandemic began there.
Instead, Taiwan focused on speed of response.
Authorities have been medically examining passengers on direct flights from Wuhan since December 31, when the virus was only the subject of rumors and various newspaper articles.
Taiwan confirmed its first case with the new coronavirus on January 21 and immediately banned Wuhan residents from coming to its island. All passengers from mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau had to undergo medical examinations.
All of this happened just before Wuhan entered the lockdown on January 23. Until March, Taiwan prohibited access to all foreign nationals except diplomats, residents, and those with special visas.
However, it must be said that Taiwan has several advantages over other countries. One of them is geographical: it is an island, which means that the authorities can better control who passes through its borders.
Taiwan also has experience on its side.
After going through the 2003 SARS epidemic, it took steps to increase its ability to respond to a pandemic, Foreign Minister Joseph Wu explained.
“So when I heard that there were some secret cases of pneumonia in China and that patients were being treated in isolation, I knew it was something similar,” he said. Authorities have activated the island’s Epidemic Control Center, created after the SARS epidemic, to coordinate various ministries.
The government has also increased the production of protective equipment to benefit from a constant flow of necessary materials.
In addition, the Government has invested in massive testing and rapid and efficient epidemiological investigations.
Former Taiwanese Vice President Chen Chien-jen, an epidemiologist by profession, says that lockdowns are not the ideal solution. Chen also says that the mass testing schemes applied in mainland China, where millions of people are tested when only a few cases occur, are useless.
“Carefully conducted epidemiological investigations and very strict quarantine of close contacts are the best way to keep Covid-19 under control,” he said.
