Tight border controls, strict isolation and effective track-and-trace measures – what can Britain learn from Taiwan?
10 February 2021 • 11:58am
Taiwan has recorded just 915 cases of Covid-19 and eight deaths so far in this pandemic
Credit: Ann Wang/Reuters
Arthur Yang, 34, returned to Taiwan last August after the death of his grandfather. He describes the experience of entering a country whose tight border controls, quarantine and track-and-trace measures have resulted in just 915 cases of Covid-19 and eight deaths so far in this pandemic
I went home last August after my grandfather died, and had to self-isolate for 14 days in special accommodation. It was so well organised and I was given personal care and support during my quarantine – I’ve no idea how it might work in the UK, they could do it but it will need a lot of organisation.
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A New Zealand pilot suspected of bringing Covid-19 into Taiwan has been fired for failing to follow correct coronavirus protocols. The community case was Taiwan’s first in more than 250 days. The disciplinary committee of EVA Airways ruled the man should have his contract terminated, effective immediately, for transgressions that included not accurately recording and not correctly reporting all his contacts and movements, and failing to wear a face covering in the cockpit, Reuters reported.
Paula Bronstein/Getty Images
Taiwanese students get their temperature checked as they enter the Taipei American school in March. The country has been one of the success stories of the Covid pandemic, not having reported a community case since April.
Taiwan has reported its first community case of Covid-19 since April, a person who had been in contact with an infected New Zealand pilot. The New Zealand man, aged in his 60s, lives in Taiwan and had tested positive for coronavirus on December 20 after experiencing symptoms while on a cargo flight to the US. The new case, a 30-year-old woman, was a friend of his and was confirmed to have caught Covid in Taiwan, the country’s Health Minister Chen Shih-chung said on Tuesday.