Premier Su Tseng-chang stated on Saturday that Taiwan will not go
into a Shanghai-style lockdown to deal with an increasing number of local
COVID-19 cases and will continue opening up as the majority of people infected
have little or no symptoms.

Taiwan has been seeing an increase in the number of domestic
COVID-19 cases, however the overall numbers remain small in comparison to the
population size  with 18,436 infected since January 1, 2022, from a
population of around 23 million, and only 4 deaths.

Taiwan, unlike Shanghai, has taken a different approach in
response to the pandemic, namely the ‘Taiwan Model’. This  advocates
gradual learning to cope with the pandemic and avoiding shutting down the
economy, as opposed to Shanghai which is in its third week of lockdown.

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The Premier told reporters that the government was confident of
the efforts being taken, adding that it was “fortunate” that more
than 99 percent of the cases were asymptomatic or had just mild symptoms.

He added, “We will gradually deal with it and won’t be like
Shanghai and go into lockdown, but we also won’t immediately stop wearing face
masks and not take anti-epidemic measures.”

More vaccines and speedy testing are being organized to deal with
the surge in infections and to reduce the length of time COVID-19 patients and
their contacts have to spend in quarantine in order to facilitate the opening
of the economy.

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Taiwan has largely remained clear of COVID-19 for most of the
pandemic. In fact, only one major outbreak has occurred in the country, which
began in May 2021, peaked at over 500 cases per day in June 2021, and led to
800  deaths.

In response, the Taiwanese government adopted a ‘zero-COVID’
policy focusing on adequate testing, tracking, and isolation. Even during the peak of
COVID-19 cases, the administration’s competent handling of the pandemic enabled
Taiwan to avoid complete lockdowns, with light measures and people allowed to
go outside freely as long as they wore masks.

Also read: Canada retains mask mandate for public and international transport

Now, gradually easing restrictions, Taiwan intends to re-instate itself into the world economy.

In all, 80% of Taiwan’s population of 23 million are
double-vaccinated, with nearly 60% having received a first booster dosage.

The Taiwanese government predicts that daily cases will reach
10,000 by the end of the month, and that the peak is several weeks away,
putting citizens at ease.