Covid-19: How Taiwan Grasped an Early Opportunity to Contain the Pandemic

I-Ting Tsai ； Seng-Feng Jeng ； Jiun-Nong Lin ； Chun-Kai Huang ； Cheuk-Kwan Sun ； Yuan-Kun Tu

《E-Da Medical Journal》 7卷4S期 (2020/12) Pp. 5-10

https://doi.org/10.6966/EDMJ.202012/SP_7(4).0002

摘要

Objective: Since the first reported case of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Wuhan, China, in December 2020, the global epidemic has infected over 20 million people and claimed more than seven hundred thousand lives worldwide in just seven months. Compared with the rest of the world, the impact of the disease on Taiwan was relatively minor. The present study aimed at analyzing the public policies of Taiwan at both governmental and institutional levels that helped in containing the spread of the pandemic. Methods: All available information issued by the Taiwanese Government in response to the essential events of the pandemic as well as the corresponding measures taken by our institute from January till July 2020 were summarized and analyzed. Results: Reviewing of the information revealed a total of five steps were at both governmental and institutional levels in an attempt to stop the spread of the pandemic in Taiwan, namely, Step 1: Strict surveillance, import control, and immediate reporting; Step 2: Containment of infection and identification of infection source; Step 3: Minimizing risks of community-acquired infection; Step 4: Prevention of nosocomial infection; and Step 5: Eliminating risks of disease importation. Conclusion: Following the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) attack in 2003, important changes in governmental healthcare policies have been made that contributed to the rapid response at both governmental and institutional levels to the looming COVID-19 pandemic at the very beginning. Nevertheless, as the pandemic remains out-of-control worldwide, new strategies may have to be adopted to reinforce our defense against the disease.

關鍵字

COVID-19 ； Taiwan Centers for Disease Control ； policy ； surveillance ； reporting

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