TAIWAN'S RESPONSE TO COVID-19

Chao, Chung-Chieh

《臺灣台北醫療聯盟學術期刊》 3期 (2022/03) Pp. 15-20

https://doi.org/10.29498/TMAAJ.202203_(3).0002

摘要

Since the coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, government and health sectors have struggled to develop interventions to address the health pandemic, especially to curb the disease spread and ensure patients' needs. Hsieh et al. (2021) write that one of the monumental challenges in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic is forging collaborative efforts between national /sub-national authorities and society. Contemporary authors have identified two main approaches in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic. On the one hand, authoritarian regimes created stringent measures, for example, strict lockdown, curbing people's movement, and mass surveillance (Thomson & Ip, 2020). Hsieh et al. (2021) identify democratic resilience as the second approach in beating COVID, whereby democracies ensure collaborative efforts. Taiwan's experience in addressing COVID-19 presents a potent case study for exploring based on two factors. Firstly, the country's geographical proximity to China, the primary source of the COVID-19 virus, and the high numbers of Taiwanese citizens working in China present a significant challenge (Yip, 2021). Thus, Taiwan was regarded a high-risk region for COVID-19 infections. The second rationale for exploring Taiwan's COVID-19 responses is that the country is often cited as having the best resilience system globally, evidenced by the lowest death and infection rates compared to other parts of the world (Worldometer, 2021). This paper argues that Taiwan's COVID-19 success in beating COVID-19 is anchored on collective interactions between the relevant stakeholders in addressing health crisis, responses built while responding to the 2003 SARS outbreak, technology, and media.