The world of Tzu Chi June 2020 (Vol.123)

2020 • 06 12 eature to invest substantially in generating nuclear deterrents, yet allocate little funding for developing healthcare systems well equipped to cope with a pandemic. According to a study published in late April 2020 by John Hopkins University, nearly 60,000 Americans died from Covid-19, exceeding the number of fatalities during the Vietnam War. By May 23, 2020, the death toll rose to over 95,000. The Covid-19 statistics in Europe and the US have been worrying. Meanwhile, Taiwan’s response to the pandemic has been lauded as exemplary. Apart from the strategic combination of factors, including professionalism, experience and perseverance, in propelling Taiwan’s success in containing the spread of Covid-19 without enforcing a lockdown, an element of luck also comes into play. Lessons from a role model In the initial phase of the Covid-19 outbreak, the mortality rate was reported to be lower than that of influenza. However, the general public was riled into collective panic, emptying shelves of face masks and alcohol-based sanitizers. The roots of collective anxiety are understandably traced to lingering memories of the 2003 SARS outbreak in Taiwan, which infected more than 100 medical personnel – 11 of them succumbed to the viral disease. The contagion had yet to reach the scale of a global pandemic, yet the escalating number of SARS-related deaths in Beijing, China prompted the Chinese government to order the emergency closure of entertainment venues and propose staggered work schedules in offices. The outbreak gradually waned with stringent precautionary measures in place. Vietnam, Singapore, Hong Kong, Beijing, Taiwan and several other countries and regions were subsequently cleared of the contagion. The SARS outbreak resulted in 8,096 infections and 774 deaths worldwide. Although scientists remain baffled by the natural disappearance of the SARS virus without a vaccine, many experts believe that the virus is still thriving in the environment. Taiwan’s rate of SARS-related fatalities was slightly higher than the global average. In April 2003, the Taiwanese government announced the emergency suspension of operations of the Taipei Municipal Heping Hospital, alongside far-reaching quarantine measures. The government’s decision shocked the island, but eventually proved effective as the outbreak receded. The grave lessons learnt from the outbreak led to the improvement of Taiwan’s public health system and facilitated the more efficient and organized management of hospitals across the island. The potency of a pandemic and its impact is not to be underestimated, as Taiwan’s authority figure on epidemic prevention, Dr. He Mei-xiang asserted, “The