Policy Decisions and Use of Information Technology to Fight Coronavirus Disease, Taiwan

• Published in: Emerging infectious diseases Vol. 26; no. 7; pp. 1506 - 1512
• Main Authors: Lin, Cheryl, Braund, Wendy E., Auerbach, John, Chou, Jih-Haw, Teng, Ju-Hsiu, Tu, Pikuei, Mullen, Jewel
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 01.07.2020
• Subjects: communicable diseases; emerging infectious diseases; epidemic; Expedited; health policy; outbreak; Policy Decisions and Use of Information Technology to Fight 2019 Coronavirus Disease, Taiwan; Policy Review; public health
• ISSN: 1080-6040; 1080-6059
• DOI: 10.3201/eid2607.200574

Because of its proximity to and frequent travelers to and from China, Taiwan faces complex challenges in preventing coronavirus disease (COVID-19). As soon as China reported the unidentified outbreak to the World Health Organization on December 31, 2019, Taiwan assembled a taskforce and began health checks onboard flights from Wuhan. Taiwan’s rapid implementation of disease prevention measures helped detect and isolate the country’s first COVID-19 case on January 20, 2020. Laboratories in Taiwan developed 4-hour test kits and isolated 2 strains of the coronavirus before February. Taiwan effectively delayed and contained community transmission by leveraging experience from the 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome outbreak, prevalent public awareness, a robust public health network, support from healthcare industries, cross-departmental collaborations, and advanced information technology capacity. We analyze use of the National Health Insurance database and critical policy decisions made by Taiwan’s government during the first 50 days of the COVID-19 outbreak.