Reducing Further Spread of COVID-19 in Taiwan by Containment of Overseas Immigration, Hospital Cluster Infection Control, and Mass Gathering Warnings

Abstract

The experience that Taiwan gained from the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) epidemic in 2003 helped in the development of early preparation and response to COVID-19 outbreak. Measures including isolation, quarantine, and social distancing have been promptly taken to flatten the epidemic progress curve in the first 50 days since Dec. 31, 2019. In the second stage, the focus of epidemic prevention in Taiwan has shifted gradually from "containment" to "disaster reduction". "Social distancing" is now a strategy for reducing transmission and "flattening the curve" with respect to cases entering the health care system. The further spread of COVID-19 in Taiwan was alleviated by control of movement in and out of the country, hospital clustering infection control, and the prevention of mass gatherings successfully. We already delayed the peak, therefore exports has become easier and we could help other countries with the necessary supply of materials. Overall, the performance of Taiwan's COVID-19 epidemic infection control was ranked first place among the 23 OECD countries. Most of the confirmed patients were aged among 20 to 40 years old, which accounted for 60% of total confirmed cases, with a total mortality rate of about 1.4%. The median time from the onset of symptoms to the release from isolation was 30 days. Due to this severe economic impact from COVID-19 epidemic, Taiwan government quickly responded with the three major principles of "epidemic prevention, bail-out, and revitalization", in order to reduce negative impact on many industries and corporations.

COVID-19 Severity and Neonatal BCG Vaccination among Young Population in Taiwan

“…Our study contributes to the existing literature about the null effect of BCG vaccination against COVID-19. On this occasion, while most countries all over the world are actively implementing a large-scale COVID-19 vaccination plan, we would like to remind that optimal infection control policies and social ecological system [36][37][38], including the enforcement of containment measures of border control, quarantine policy, testing strategy of risk groups, intensive contact tracing, discouraging mass gathering, and the wide use of personal protection equipment, are still crucial in eliminating this disastrous pandemic.…”