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Taiwan Has Just Marked 200 Days Without Any Locally-Transmitted Coronavirus Cases

Taiwan Has Just Marked 200 Days Without Any Locally-Transmitted Coronavirus Cases

As of Thursday, the country had recorded just 553 cases since the pandemic first broke out, with 55 of these being local transmissions

Jess Hardiman

Jess Hardiman

Taiwan has just marked its 200th consecutive day without a locally-transmitted case of coronavirus, highlighting its successful approach to keeping the virus under control as cases continue to rise elsewhere.

According to The Guardian, the country's Centre for Disease Control last reported a domestic case on 12 April - now 202 days ago.

As of Thursday, it has also recorded just 553 cases since the pandemic first broke out, with 55 of these being local transmissions. The country has also seven deaths, which, while tragic, is a minute figure compared to other nations.

Peter Collignon, an infectious disease physician and professor at the Australian National University Medical School, told CNN: "Taiwan is the only major country that has so far been able to keep community transmission of Covid eliminated."

People wear face masks as they walk through a shopping district in Taipei, Taiwan.
PA

Collignon added that Taiwan 'probably had the best result around the world', something he said is 'even more impressive' for an economy with a population about the same size as Australia's, with many people living close to one another in apartments.

Various reasons have been credited to Taiwan's coronavirus response, with the country's authorities praised for acting quickly to stop the spread of the disease, bringing in strict control measures and pouring resources into testing and tracing

The country shut down to all non-residents back in March, and has maintained tight border control since, with Jason Wang, director of Stanford University's Center for Policy, Outcomes and Prevention, telling Time: "Taiwan's continual success is due to strict enforcement of border control."

PA

Taiwan's previous exposure to the SARS epidemic meant it had faced something similar before, while its nature as an island nation is also something that worked in its favour - as did having an epidemiologist as vice-president.

Meanwhile, over in Europe many countries are tackling a second wave of the virus, with countries such as France, Germany and Belgium recently announcing national lockdowns.

President Macron said curfews in Paris and other major cities had failed to stem the tide of infections, saying in a televised statement: "Our target is simple: sharply reducing infections from 40,000 a day to 5,000 and slowing the pace of admissions to hospital and intensive care."

He added: "No matter what we do, nearly 9,000 people will be in intensive care by mid-November."

While Macron acknowledged that the new restrictions are 'heartbreaking', he said he 'could never stand by and see hundreds of thousands of our citizens die'.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: World News, News, taiwan, Coronavirus