Taiwan Records Zero Coronavirus Cases for 200 Consecutive Days

2020-10-30 07:11:04

(MENAFN- Khaama Press) TAIPEI, Taiwan – While the world struggles to contain new waves of the coronavirus pandemic, including the Unites States topping the list for its confirmed cases, Taiwan just marked its 200th consecutive days without a single locally transmitted case of the virus.

The island of 23 million people last reported a locally transmitted case on April 12. As of Thursday, it had confirmed 553 cases — only 55 of which were local transmissions. Seven deaths have been recorded.

Taiwan has never had to enact strict lockdowns. Nor did it resort to drastic restrictions on civil freedoms, according to reports, like in mainland China.

Instead, Taiwanese authorities began screening passengers on direct flights from Wuhan, where the virus was first identified on December 31, 2019.

Taiwan confirmed its first reported case of the novel coronavirus on January 21 and then banned Wuhan residents from traveling to the island. All passengers arriving from mainland China, Hong Kong and Macao were required to undergo screening, CNN reported.

Former Taiwanese Vice President Chen Chien-jen, who is an epidemiologist by training, said lockdowns are not ideal. Chen also said that the type of mass-testing schemes undertaken in mainland China, where millions of people are screened when a handful of cases are detected, are also unnecessary, according to report.

'Very careful contact tracing, and very stringent quarantines of close contacts are the best way to contain Covid-19,' he said.

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