TAIWAN — Taiwan has drawn from lessons learned during the SARS epidemic to mount an effective and immediate response to the 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak, using three major steps. <br /><br />According to a report by Mirror Media, Taiwan's first response to the novel coronavirus came on December 31, when China reported 27 cases of a mysterious Wuhan pneumonia to the WHO.<br /><br />Direct flights from Wuhan became subject to onboard health screening, and passengers had to declare their health status.<br /><br />It wasn't until January 21 that the island nation reported its first confirmed case. A 55-year-old businesswoman who returned to Taiwan from Wuhan was brought directly to the hospital upon arrival.<br /><br />Taiwan's second step was made on January 15, when the country's Centers for Disease Control listed the Wuhan pneumonia as a Category 5 communicable disease.<br /><br />According to Focus Taiwan, this made it mandatory to report suspected cases within 24 hours. Quarantining those who exhibited symptoms also became compulsory.<br /><br />When a man in Kaohsiung neglected to report viral symptoms after returning from Wuhan, the government fined him NT$300,000, or about US$10,000.<br /><br />On January 16, Taiwan's CDC raised the travel alert for Wuhan, after a Taiwanese expert team sent to the city to observe the epidemic suspected the possibility of human-to-human transmission.<br /><br />As of February 6, Taiwan has 13 confirmed cases of the virus. According to a CDC press release, patients are being treated in isolation wards and are in a stable condition.
