A worsening coronavirus outbreak in Taiwan has raised urgent questions about how the virus slipped past the island’s “gold standard” defences, and if it can quickly return to a zero-Covid life. On Friday, the numbers turned when health authorities reported 29 local cases, followed by 180 on Saturday, 206 on Sunday, and 333 on Monday. Most are in the north, with large clusters in Taipei city and New Taipei city, where testing stations have reported 10% positivity rates. About 91% of Taiwan’s total local caseload has come in the past four days. Vally said Taiwan had the “gold standard” of responses in the beginning, and the high community cooperation with non-mandatory requests to stay home was a huge plus.

Source: The Guardian May 17, 2021 09:15 UTC