With nations having a tough fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, here is how Taiwan has appreciably contained the spread and handled the outbreak.
[Notably, Taiwan is not a member of the World Health Organisation (WHO).]
What was Taiwan’s COVID-19 strategy?
It is 17 years since Taiwan was hit hard by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak of 2003.
Given this history, Taiwan has been in a state of constant readiness to the threat of emerging infectious diseases.
When information on COVID-19 outbreak was first confirmed on December 31, 2019, Taiwan began implementing onboard quarantine of direct flights from Wuhan that very same day.
On January 2, 2020, Taiwan established a response team for the disease.
It activated the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) on January 20 as a level 3 government entity.
This was upgraded to level 2 and level 1 on January 23 and February 27, respectively.
The CECC effectively integrates resources from various ministries and invest itself fully in the containment of the epidemic.
Taiwan undertook rigorous testing. As of April 9, it had tested a total of 42,315 persons showing 380 confirmed cases.
Despite its proximity to China, Taiwan ranked 123 among 183 countries in terms of confirmed cases per million people.
These included onboard quarantine, fever screening, health declarations.
A 14-day home quarantine for passengers arriving from nations it has listed under the Level 3 Warning was part of the plan.
Monitoring and Support - Taiwan has established an electronic system for entry quarantine.
This allows passengers with a local mobile phone number to fill in health information using a mobile phone.
A health declaration pass will then be sent to them as a text message.
This is connected to the community care support management system.
The system, in turn, allows government agencies to provide care services and medical assistance.
The travel history of individuals is now stored on the National Health Insurance (NHI) card to alert physicians to possible cases and prevent community transmission.
For those undergoing home quarantine or isolation, the government is working with telecom operators to allow GPS tracking of their locations.
Quarantine offenders are subject to fines or mandatory placement according to relevant laws and regulations.
Testing - Taiwan has increased its laboratory testing capacity.
It expanded the scope of its surveillance and inspections based on trends of the disease.
It also retested people with higher risk who had already tested negative.
Meanwhile, it has designated 50 regional hospitals and medical centres and 167 community hospitals and clinics to create a tiered system for testing.
Precaution - The above hospitals and clinics are also required to set up special wards or areas.
In principle, COVID-19 patients are isolated and treated individually in these wards and areas to prevent nosocomial infections.
[A nosocomial infection refers to a hospital-acquired infection (HAI).]
Moreover, Taiwan has banned the export of surgical masks since January 24, 2020.
It arranged for masks, and expanded domestic mask production to more effectively allocate masks.
It launched a name-based rationing system for mask purchases at NHI-contracted pharmacies and local public health agencies.
An ordering system for masks was brought in which allows people to order online and pick up masks at convenience stores.
Why is a connected global effort crucial?
Infectious diseases know no borders.
Pandemics can spread rapidly around the world because of the ease of international transportation.
Among the most salient examples are:
the Spanish flu of 1918
the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak of 2003
the H1N1 influenza of 2009
Intermittently, serious regional epidemics have also occurred.
These include the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in 2012, Ebola in West Africa in 2014, and the Zika virus in Central and South America in 2015-16.
Certainly, global health security requires the efforts of every person to ensure an optimal response to public health threats and challenges.
Taiwan, though not a member of WHO, cannot stand alone and must be included in the fight against such threats and challenges.
Can Taiwan rightfully claim this?
Taiwan has long been excluded from WHO due to political considerations.
But Taiwan has fulfilled its responsibilities as a global citizen.
It has abided by the International Health Regulations 2005 (IHR 2005) in notifying WHO of confirmed COVID-19 cases.
It has also communicated with other countries on confirmed cases, travel and contact histories, and border control measures.
Taiwan has uploaded the genetic sequence of COVID-19 to the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID) Initiative.
How will Taiwan's inclusion help?
Taiwan could now share much with the world given its renowned public health experience and system, the NHI, etc.
Its ability to perform rapid testing as well as research and manufacture vaccines and drugs against COVID-19 has much to offer.
It can also share its methods for analysing the virus.
If WHO’s mission is to ensure the highest attainable standard of health for every person, then WHO needs Taiwan just as Taiwan needs WHO.
