Taiwan on Tuesday reported its first case of local transmission Covid-19, which broke a race of more than 250 days without a head, according to data released by the island’s Ministry of Health.
The ministry said the case was of a woman in her 30s who had contact with another positive case, a foreign pilot, between December 8 and 12.
The island of 23 million people last reported a locally transmitted case on April 12th.
Taiwan also reported three imported cases on Tuesday, accounting for the total number of Covid-19 infections since the pandemic began in 770. Only seven people have died from coronavirus in Taiwan.
On Monday, a senior Taiwanese health official said the island would not consider banning flights from the UK after a new strain was detected due to sufficient preventive measures, according to Taiwanese state media.
Taiwan outbreak: Taipei’s response to the coronavirus pandemic has been one of the most effective in the world.
Taiwan has never had to enact strict closures. Nor did it resort to drastic restrictions on civil liberties, as in mainland China.
Instead, Taiwan’s response focused on speed. Taiwanese authorities began examining passengers on direct flights from Wuhan, where the virus was first identified, on December 31, 2019, when the virus was mainly the subject of rumors and reduced reports.
Taiwan confirmed on January 21 its first case of the new coronavirus and banned Wuhan residents from traveling to the island. All passengers arriving from mainland China, Hong Kong and Macao had to be checked.
All this happened before Wuhan itself came to a close on January 23rd. In March, Taiwan banned the entry of most foreign nationals to the island, apart from diplomats, residents and special entry visas.