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[Another thread on Taiwan's #COVID19 response]
I've watched this webinar this morning, and I want to validate some of the things VP Chen Chien-jen mentioned in today's webinar. I've taken some screen grabs of his slides, but tomorrow JHSPH will upload a copy of the full video. https://twitter.com/JohnsHopkinsSPH/status/1252662331903037442
I've watched this webinar this morning, and I want to validate some of the things VP Chen Chien-jen mentioned in today's webinar. I've taken some screen grabs of his slides, but tomorrow JHSPH will upload a copy of the full video. https://twitter.com/JohnsHopkinsSPH/status/1252662331903037442
1/ Full disclosure - I haven't been in the Philippines for a while now. My family moved to Taiwan in 2014 (so it's always just been me in Manila) and I am a citizen of both countries.
This is me on my flight late March - barely anyone was on the plane.
This is me on my flight late March - barely anyone was on the plane.
2/ I've mentioned in many tweets how amazing Taiwan's response has been, and I'm not done talking about them yet. You can read about them in this thread (& then there's another thread inside too)
In this one, I will focus on quarantine/isolation efforts https://twitter.com/jasonhaw_/status/1248613216113967111
In this one, I will focus on quarantine/isolation efforts https://twitter.com/jasonhaw_/status/1248613216113967111
3/ Starting March 19, all Taiwanese inbound travelers are subject to a 14-day home quarantine. Before passing through immigration, everyone passes by the CDC area to register for home quarantine. You can do it via app, or do it via paper (I did mine via paper)
4/ For both methods, your details are automatically entered into their system before you leave the CDC area. The registered phone number is also checked ON THE SPOT to know if that number is really yours. They also check if you have a way home or if you have accommodation...
5/ because special taxis at fixed fares are available once you leave the airport, and quarantine hotels are available for accommodation. Most travelers around this time are Taiwanese living abroad like me, so the gov't understands that not all of us have permanent addresses...
6/ or have living situations that allow for proper social distancing. In my case, my dad was waiting for me outside the airport, had my Taiwan phone (so I had CDC call the number for my dad to answer), and I sleep in the spare guest room in our apartment.
7/ The CDC asks a lot of questions to make sure that I am well-taken care of upon arrival in Taiwan. My Mandarin is terrible, but English forms and English-speaking staff are available to talk to.
Once I arrived at home, the local gov't passed by to give me quarantine goodie-bag
Once I arrived at home, the local gov't passed by to give me quarantine goodie-bag
8/ which contained a supply of 14 face masks + some snacks. The police also came to my home to confirm that I was really living in the address I indicated in my quarantine form, and gave their contact details in case I need any assistance.
9/ On the paper form, I have to fill out my temperature and symptoms everyday. But the symptom check doesn't stop there. Everyday, I would receive a call at around 8am from the local government to check up on me, but they really call to triangulate my GPS coordinates
10/ My phone has to be on 24/7 so that the government can check if I am within my digital fence. If not, the police really show up - we know of friends whose battery died for 10 min and police came knocking almost instantly to check if they are at home https://qz.com/1825997/taiwan-phone-tracking-system-monitors-55000-under-coronavirus-quarantine/
11/ Aside from that, I was asked to download a LINE chat bot where I can enter my symptoms. I also receive daily SMS where I have to reply if I have symptoms or not. Is the data collection a little bit extra, maybe even intrusive? Probably. But it is necessary.
12/ Taiwan's data infrastructure is IMPRESSIVE. Immigration data and National Health Insurance (of which almost all Taiwanese are members) data are integrated - when I registered on LINE, the bot knew my travel history and quarantine details from just entering my national ID.
13/ I've mentioned before Taiwan's rapid ramp-up of face mask manufacturing. As of today, Taiwan produces close to 16 MILLION MASKS DAILY - which means the total volume of masks they have donated to other countries is just worth one day's production.
14/ All face masks are rationed - the current rationing system is now 9 masks per adult citizen for 14 days. The price of face masks remain regulated by the gov't - 5 NT (<USD0.20)/piece + 7NT (~USD0.25) for the delivery fee. Pickup is at your nearest convenience store.
15/ All of this, without ANY sort of lockdown - Taiwan didn't do anything revolutionary. At the heart of their response is a functioning democracy with competent, technical leaders. I've said multiple times that this outbreak is a test of political will and leadership.
16/ The latest threat to Taiwan's track record is the cluster of infections in a navy fleet who went on a diplomatic mission to Palau. There was a coverup on the side of the navy, and the gov't is scrambling to contact trace more than 200,000 individuals. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/22/taiwan-navy-races-to-trace-700-sailors-on-pacific-goodwill-tour-after-covid-19-cases-emerge
17/ The defense minister removed the officials involved in the incident, and apologized publicly and asked the President to impose any necessary punitive actions on him and other senior officials. President Tsai herself apologized as commander-in-chief. https://taiwantoday.tw/news.php?unit=2,6,10,15,18&post=175942
18/ There is talk of lockdowns now in the major cities - New Taipei already held drills, Kaohsiung is planning one too (fun fact: their mayor was the Kuomintang presidential candidate who lost to Tsai earlier this month - see how bipartisan they are there) https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/taiwan-covid-19-navy-lockdown-coronavirus-12669446
19/ Taipei is planning a tabletop exercise first to simulate the impact of lockdowns. Widespread testing isn't needed yet because contact tracing is extremely efficient here. Three-fourths of the 400+ confirmed cases so far are imported cases, and they are caught at the airport
20/20 And as for the public, trust in government is at its highest, and both major parties are working in a bipartisan fashion to implement a wide range of nuanced solutions to the outbreak. The government's swift, comprehensive action LITERALLY saved millions of lives.
