Monday 20 April 2020

They manage these things better in Taiwan

SHARE
Taiwan seems to be the place that is safest from the virus. Despite being so close to (Red) China, it has had only 422 reported cases and six deaths. I know of one rich man who decided this over dinner in Thailand six weeks ago and promptly left for Taipei. 

The Taiwanese Vice-President Chen Chien-jen is also the country's chief epidemiologist. The Telegraph interviewed Mr Chen in his office last week  and asked him if Taiwan’s pandemic strategy can be copied in bigger countries. He replied:

"Yes, sure. It will never be too late to control any kind of outbreak in any country. There are still a lot of chances for different countries to adopt good strategies developed here to help contain the outbreak. Social distancing and good health behaviour are definitely important – frequent handwashing, measuring body temperature, using a face mask if necessary. At home, close contacts [of the infected] shouldn’t dine together. The [patient] can live in a single room. It’s not necessary to stop all activities. As long as more than 50% of the population reduces 50% of their social contacts then the outbreak can be controlled. They can go to school, to work but must reduce non-essential recreation and social contact.

"Home quarantine is important. Close contacts must stay at home for 14 days and check their health status.
It’s not necessary to stop all activities. As long as more than 50 per cent of the population reduces 50 per cent of their social contacts then the outbreak can be controlled. They can go to school, to work, but must reduce non-essential recreation and social contact.”

No comments:

Post a Comment