Taiwan has Recorded Zero COVID-19 Cases in the Last 200 Days
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen visits the Central Epidemic Command Center on April 2 (Flickr).
Taiwan has hit its 200th consecutive day without a locally transmitted case of COVID-19. With a population of 23 million people, the region has not recorded a coronavirus case since April 12. In total, authorities have only reported 550 cases and 7 deaths. Experts say Taiwan’s success in controlling the coronavirus has to do with the island’s previous pandemic experience, mask production, border closures, and contact tracing.
“Taiwan is the only major [territory] that has so far been able to keep community transmission of COVID eliminated,” remarked Peter Collignon, an infectious disease expert at the Australian National University Medical School.
One of the primary reasons for Taiwan’s effective mitigation comes from its prior experience with epidemics. In the last two decades, Taiwan has weathered avian flu, H1N1, and, most notably, SARS, a virus related to COVID-19.
During the 2003 SARS outbreak, Taiwan reported hundreds of cases, 73 deaths, and the world’s third-highest rate of infection. According to Sue Sung-how, a doctor in Taipei, this pandemic gave the Taiwanese government experience to act more decisively during the present health crisis.
“This time around, there was a quicker and more effective response by the government. One of the first things the authorities did was to ban the export of protective masks, since they were essential for the local population,” Sung-how said in June.
As a result of this ban, Taipei could increase daily production capacity from 2 million to 8 million masks between April and July. Currently, Taiwan produces 20 million masks per day, which officials then quickly distribute to citizens via the central government.
In addition to Taiwan’s mask policy, Jason Wang, Stanford University’s Director of the Center for Policy, Outcomes and Prevention, says that early border closures and travel restrictions by Taiwan effectively mitigated widespread community transmission.
“Taiwan’s continual success is due to strict enforcement of border control,” Wang stated.
By January, Taipei had already barred entry to non-residents. Furthermore, Wang says that all domestic travelers undergo testing for symptoms before boarding flights and must abide by a two-week isolation period enforced through phone tracking.
In the event of a positive test, the Taiwanese government immediately begins contact tracing. On average, they track 20 to 30 contacts per case, who must themselves stay in a two-week quarantine even if they test negative for the virus. 99.7 percent of these contacts comply with quarantine regulations as few wish to pay the $35,000 violations fine.
In an interview, Chen Chien-jen, the former vice president of Taiwan and an epidemiologist, said that countries with rising cases should learn from Taiwan that COVID-19 mitigation efforts only make an impact when complimented with effective contact tracing.
Taiwan has begun to reap the benefits of its early mitigation strategies. It stands with a select few other regions that expect economic expansion in 2020, with a projected GDP growth of 1.56 percent.