India
currently has around 6,800 active cases and 210 Corona-virus related deaths, and it is not yet experiencing a flat curve, at
least not anytime soon. Keeping this in view, PM Modi, in his latest video
conference with all the floor leaders of the parliament has already hinted us
about a likely extension of the lockdown period. In fact, the states of Odisha
and Punjab have already declared the
extension officially. Lockdown is, for sure a good strategy to contain and stop
the spread of this deadly pandemic, but there are some countries out there,
successfully tackling the threat in less-hurting (both to the economy and citizens)
ways.
THE CHINESE ARE BOASTING, A BIT TOO MUCH INFACT!
The
Chinese government does deserve credit for containing the spread of the
COVID-19 outbreak, if the official numbers were to be believed. That, however, is not a validation–neither of its
authoritarian system nor of the extraordinary
draconian measures employed to manage the pandemic. Indeed, there is a case to
be made that it was the secretive, top-down system that made the outbreak so
big and so bad that draconian measures became absolutely necessary to stop the
virus’s further spread. If the Communist party leaders were less concerned about
their careers & promotions and more about managing public health properly,
they might not have waited a whole month before raising alarm.
But the fact that some countries have been quite successful in
controlling the pandemic without implementing any of the “brutal measures” used
by the Chinese, challenges the notion that a China-style lockdown is the only
way to do it.
WHICH ARE
THOSE COUNTRIES?
Several
Asian governments have been relatively successful in controlling the first wave
of the epidemic. South Korea’s
strategy of mass, rapid testing and real-time information sharing turned out to
be very effective. High social capital in Japan and
the rule-of-law culture in Singapore enabled
voluntary compliance and social distancing strategies. The emphasis might have been
different, but all of these countries had well-thought-through strategies that
were competently executed by the government machinery with cooperation from
society.
But
what was left out in the discussion is what a small Pacific Ocean island the
size of Kerala has achieved in the COVID-19 fight. The reason? The island of
Formosa, or Taiwan, is not a member of the WHO. No explicit data from Taiwan
has been shown in the WHO daily briefings.
Taiwan
— which has been kept out of the WHO by Beijing — used a combination of
proactive surveillance, early screening, data-based control measures and mobile
phones to limit the contagion to imported cases. Despite Taipei being one of
the most vulnerable cities, due to its extensive ties with Wuhan, Taiwan has
come out relatively unscathed.
HOW COULD TAIWAN
DO IT?
It
was hit hard by the 2003 SARS epidemic that claimed nearly 81 Taiwanese lives and affected another 671 which
made Taiwan undertake serious preparations for a future epidemic. Thus, the
country became hypervigilant once the first case of mysterious pneumonia was
reported in Wuhan, China. On January 20, Taiwan established a Central Epidemic
Command Center (CECC), that was composed of medical and public health experts
and headed by Vice President Dr. Chen Chien Jen, himself a well-respected
epidemiologist, and led by Dr. Shi Chung Chen. It ensured that surveillance,
contact tracing, and isolation/quarantine were implemented straight away.
Taiwan
has managed to maintain a low case count through vigorous public health
measures. There has not been any shut down of theaters, departmental stores,
and, most importantly, schools although large gatherings are discouraged.
Taiwan saw a surge of cases March, mostly among students or expatriates
returning from Europe and North America. While it put additional strain on the
system, a strict quarantine was executed. As of today, around 80,000 people are
under isolation, who are monitored regularly with daily temperature and symptom
checks, which are tracked by phone. If the GPS signal from a quarantined person’s phone indicates
movement outside of a certain range, a follow-up phone call will be placed to
confirm the person’s location.
Taiwan
started COVID-19 RT-PCR tests in January. In the very beginning tests were applied to people
returning from the epidemic area or symptomatic patients with relevant travel
history. When there was a surge of case numbers in neighboring Asian countries,
health authorities did a retrospective screening of patients reported as having
a severe flu. This identified the first case without any travel history (it
turned out that the patient was a cab driver who had given a ride to a
passenger from Zhejiang, China, another epidemic region). The CECC swiftly
amended the protocol for surveillance and testing based on the development of
the epidemic. Most recently, any patients who report a loss of the sense of
smell or taste were also mandated to be tested.
WHAT ELSE
DID THEY DO?
In
addition to requiring physical distancing of more than 1 meter in public, as of
April 1, face masks were made mandatory when using public transportation. As
early as January, Taiwan’s government ramped up the production of face masks
and other personal protective equipment (PPE) as well as critical medical
supplies. Sophisticated plans have been mapped out to triage patients to better
utilize negative pressure rooms in preparation for any surge of community-acquired
patients.
As
fighting the coronavirus is an all-hands-on-deck effort, the CECC lead the
effort, ensuring effective coordination between various government agencies. An
“epidemic fighting fleet” has been assembled by the Department of Transportation
to pick up passengers returning from epidemic areas to facilitate contact
tracing. Apps were developed to streamline face mask buying.
In
addition to implementing strict public health measures, Taiwan is also striving
to develop point of care diagnostics and antibody tests, hoping to advance the science
as well as to better identify patients. The thriving biomedical industry in
Taiwan playing its role by taking part in the development of therapeutics and vaccines.
Silmitasertib
(CX-4945) is one of the many promising possible cures that is being
investigated right now.
FINAL
THOUGHTS
Many nations are now angry at China
and the World Health Organization for their mishandling of the Coronavirus. The
efficiency and transparency of Taiwan's response to the epidemic, in contrast,
has made it a topic of renewed interest. The coronavirus crisis is showcasing
Taiwan's democratic system of governance on an international stage, the biggest
soft power win for the country in years.
Taiwan is not only a beacon of democracy,
but also a living proof that control of an emerging virus can be achieved
through science, technology & democratic governance and that no draconian
autocratic measures are required. If the Indian govt. was to try and implement
some of these measures and resume close-to-normal day-to-day activities, at
least in the less-effected zones, it might save our already slowing down
economy from stalling.
JAI HIND!
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