Vice President Chen Chien-jen sat down for an exclusive interview with BBC World Service’s Newsday April 8 via video link at the Presidential Office in Taipei City, in which he expounded on the Taiwan Model for combating coronavirus.
Managing the COVID-19 pandemic requires swift action, Chen said, adding that measures including border control and 14-day mandatory quarantine, issuance of travel alerts and ensuring sufficient medical supplies have worked in tandem with the country’s National Health Insurance system to keep Taiwan on top of the disease that was first reported in the Chinese city of Wuhan late last year.
Chen said Taiwan’s experience with the 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome outbreak pushed the country to develop its preparedness for future epidemics. This included enhancing laboratory capacity, performing regular drills, establishing laws governing the Central Epidemic Command Center and a network of designated regional response hospitals, as well as making amendments to the Communicable Disease Control Act in 2019, he added.
According to Chen, Taiwan Can Help provide face masks, pharmaceuticals and technologies to the international community as a gesture of friendship and good will. One example is the country’s pledge April 1 to donate 10 million surgical masks to hard-hit countries including the U.S. and the U.K. for use as personal protective equipment by frontline medical staffers, he said.
Chen also wished U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson a speedy recovery from COVID-19 during the interview. (YCH-E)
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