“Taiwan’s State and Its Lessons For Effective Epidemic Intervention” by Ming-Cheng Lo

As the COVID-19 outbreak continues to threaten and disrupt lives across the globe, Taiwan, a small island which has long endured diplomatic isolation on the international stage, is suddenly held up as the “gold standard” for how to contain this pandemic (Smith, 2020). As of March 25th, Taiwan has only 216 confirmed cases of the new coronavirus among a population of 23 million and maintains a low community transmission rate. It has been able to achieve this level of containment with relatively moderate social distancing measures, even though the island sits off China’s coast and is linked with many Chinese cities with frequent direct flights. How Taiwan beats the odds has made headlines in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the National Public Radio, ABC News, the Guardian, among others... [READ MORE]