The Measures and Achievement of Community Epidemic Prevention against COVID-19 in Taiwan

COVID-19 is an emerging infectious disease occurred in Wuhan, China at the end of 2019. The epidemic began to spread in early 2020 and had become a global pandemic. In order to prevent the disease from entering the community and causing continuous transmission, Taiwan had successfully curbed the spread of COVID-19 through rigid community defense lines. Relevant measures included strengthening the notification of suspected cases, launching an expanded community surveillance program, detecting submerged cases effectively, and following by prompt isolation and adequate treatment, monitoring cases progression throughout the whole medical process. Furthermore, to implement home isolation and home quarantine policy, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) established appropriate tracking and following up systems on persons at risk of infection with smart technology and inter-ministerial cooperation. In addition, the CECC published epidemic prevention guidelines and provided advices for crowded places or activities to strengthen epidemic prevention at those with high risks of infection. Moreover, through multiple channels and platforms, the CECC established communication with the public regarding risks of infection and raised the public's awareness of epidemic prevention among our people. Thanks to the collective efforts of the public and strict border controls, the epidemic was under stable situation. The CECC substantially lifted the restrictions since June 7, so that the public and industries could return to normalcy. Lastly, to be prepared for the future border controls adjustments, personal health behaviors must be cultivated and rooted deeply in our daily lives. In addition to closely monitoring the epidemic situations and trends, The CECC continues to encourage our people to implement the ''Epidemic New Life Movement'' and timely adjust the epidemic prevention strategies according to the epidemic status of COVID-19. Most importantly, the CECC will make every efforts to reduce the risks of community transmission and protect the health of our people.