Coronavirus: Taiwan went a year without scratches, but now it’s starting to suffer

Barely a month ago, people could share a lunch in restaurants in Taipei without leaving each other behind. The boys enjoyed the fresh air in the parks after school. Cinemas and other leisure spaces have kept their doors open to welcome the Taiwanese, who have lived a life almost free of coronavirus. Even four million people participated in a religious event in April thanks to a “Good control of the domestic epidemic”, as reported by local media.

The successful model has been left behind. Faced with an alarming increase in positive cases, today life in Taiwan has changed dramatically and freedom has changed in one strict containment to contain the worst coronavirus outbreak since the start of the pandemic.

Taiwan today recorded a historic record with 245 new cases of coronavirus per day, of which 240 were classified as local infections. Taiwanese authorities raised the health alert to level 3 yesterday after Taipei Yes New Taipei became the center of rebound with an increase in incidence between 3 and 10 percent in just a few days.

Out of a total of 14 dead Since the pandemic broke last year, two have been recorded today by the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).

Between the restrictions put in place in this new set of measures there is the closure of schools and kindergartens, sports centers, cinemas and bars, and most recreational areas. Outdoor gatherings of more than 10 people have been canceled, as have those of more than 5 people in closed spaces.

the the use of the mask has become compulsory everywhere, with a penalty for those who do not respect it of 3,000 to 15,000 Taiwan dollars (107 to 535 dollars). Pilgrimages and religious events have also been canceled.

“The current approach of using contact tracing to contain the spread of the virus may have a limited effect, so we need to take disease prevention measures in the community and increase the alert level of Covid-19 to control effectively this epidemic, ”said the Minister of Health, Chen Shih Chung.

The outbreak comes after cases spiked at a quarantine hotel near Taiwan’s airport last month. Authorities later discovered that the hotel he had mixed up the quarantined airline staff at the hotel with regular visitors to the same building. A few weeks later, other local cases began to appear in various parts of Taiwan.

After the tranquility of a life without coronavirus, Taiwan must now act quickly. Much of the 23.78 million inhabitants of the island did not consider the need to receive doses of the vaccine against the coronavirus from AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford recently. With only 2,260 cases in total, normality has shown that it is possible to live without the doses.

Now, with 1,000 new infections in 10 days, many are eager to get vaccinated as soon as possible, and authorities are rationing supplies to the 300,000 doses available, while two locally produced vaccines remain in the second phase of trials and are not expected to be launched until July.

“We are working to acquire vaccine doses from overseas and our government is doing everything possible to ensure their delivery on time,” said the Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, on their social networks.

“Stay alert, follow the latest official guidelines, and get vaccinated as soon as you are eligibleRecommended the president.

The island has one of the Lowest vaccination rates on record, with less than 1% of the population taking at least one dose. The government expects large shipments of vaccines: five million doses of Moderna, ten million AstraZeneca and four million of the Covax mechanism. But the need to receive them is becoming more and more urgent in the current situation.

“Please help TaiwanOne user pleaded on Twitter. Although the epidemiological situation in other countries of the world is much more serious, the epidemic of cases worries health officials since the virus containment strategy that has succeeded in positioning Taiwan as an example in 2020 is not yielding results. .

Excluded from World Health Organization (WHO) before China’s demands not to be treated as an independent state, much of the success he’s had so far This is due to strict and early border checks, the ban on foreign tourists and mandatory quarantines for all residents returning to the country.

The Taiwan’s proximity to China, where the pandemic was said to have been triggered, urged authorities to focus primarily on closing the doors to the outside. This made general local containment unnecessary for a long time.

Tsai Ing-wen assured in an interview in December that “unity is the real key to success in the fight against Covid-19”. Ranked fifth on Bloomberg’s Resilience Index among the best countries to withstand the pandemic, Taiwan was more than 250 days case-free last year.

Today the message seems to be the same, but with a completely different storyline.: “As long as we remain vigilant and work together to implement preventive measures, we can contain Covid-19 and protect each other,” he said.

THE NATION