The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday urged people to download the Taiwan Social Distancing App (臺灣社交距離) to help the nation’s efforts to trace COVID-19 transmission chains.
The highly transmissible Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 requires a more efficient approach to tracing contacts of confirmed cases, so the center would focus more on promoting the app, which notifies users when they had been near an infected person, said Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the CECC.
The app, first introduced in May last year, was developed by the center and artificial intelligence developer Taiwan AI Labs.
Chen said that about
Taiwan Business TOPICS Local pharmaceutical firm Golden Biotechnology Corp. independently developed Antroquinonol
(Hocena®), a novel small-molecule drug, and is now testing its use for treatment of COVID-19. Photo: Golden Biotechnology Corp.
Despite rigorous border control and strict measures, COVID-19 has made its way into Taiwan. Now businesses, researchers, and government are working on innovations that will put Taiwan back in business.
Until recently, Taiwan had a remarkable success record in containing the spread of COVID-19 and maintaining normality for its citizens. While hospitals worldwide had their capacities stretched to their limits, Taiwan reported approximately 1,200 local cases and 11 related deaths in 14 months. However, in May, a few local clusters resulted in a significant spread of the coronavirus around the island.