COVID-19（武漢肺炎）防疫戰──成功守住台灣之關鍵

The War Against the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-2019): Keys to Successfully Defending Taiwan

COVID-19（嚴重特殊傳染性肺炎，簡稱武漢肺炎）引發了本世紀最大規模人類與病毒的戰疫。目前證據顯示SARS-CoV-2病毒主要由近距離飛沫、直接或間接接觸傳染，傳染力在症狀出現前1–2天直到症狀出現後7－10天，由於發病早期常不易察覺症狀或及時介入措施，僅發現和隔離有症狀的患者可能不足以遏制疾病的流行。因此，控制源頭並阻斷傳播是非常重要的措施，包括適時佩戴口罩，做好個人防護及維持必要的社交距離。台灣汲取SARS經驗至少準備了17年，即早介入並落實多面向策略，讓台灣在此次疫情因應及對策上展現亮眼，也受到國際間讚賞。本篇以感染管制角度討論COVID-19防疫關鍵，從台灣抗疫模式、醫院感染管制到全民防護，強調詢問TOCC（travel history, occupation, contact history, cluster）、手部衛生、正確使用個人防護裝備及保持安全距離對防疫的重要性，守好最基本的個人防線，以提供病人及其他工作人員安全的環境。

The outbreak of COVID-19 triggered the largest human-virus war in this century. Current evidence indicates that the SARS-CoV-2 strain of coronavirus is mainly transmitted by droplets either by direct or indirect contact. The duration of infectiousness of COVID-19 ranges from 1-2 days before and 7-10 days after the onset of symptoms. It is often difficult to detect the signs and symptoms of infection and to implement timely intervention during the very early stage of infection. Thus, finding and isolating symptomatic patients may not be sufficient to contain this epidemic. Therefore, it is very important to wear masks, take personal precautions, and practice recommended social distancing to achieve source control and stop transmission. Taiwan has learned from its previous experience with the SARS epidemic and prepared for the potential of new disease outbreaks for at least 17 years. This helped the government to implement a multifaceted strategy in the early stages of the COVID-19 outbreak. Taiwan's effective response has made the country a model for pandemic response policy that has been appreciated internationally. This paper examines COVID-19 epidemic prevention from the perspective of infection control strategies. In Taiwan, hospital infection control, which is practiced nationwide, emphasizes the importance to epidemic prevention of collecting and tracking travel history, occupation, contact history, cluster (TOCC) information; practicing hand hygiene; promoting the correct use of personal protective equipment; and maintaining safe distances from others. Personal control measures are recognized as critical to providing a safe environment for patients and staff.