19 cases climbed around the world.

Once again, we take a closer look at the government that has most successfully tackled the pandemic in Asia, Taiwan.

Just seven people have died of the coronavirus there, with a total of 570 cases ever recorded.

As of this Tuesday, some people have pointed out its island geography as one explanation.

But take one look at the UK, and that should dispel any myth about an island advantage.

In fact, Taiwan was especially vulnerable in the early days of the pandemic, with hundreds of flights going to China every week, making its success in the fight against Cove it all the more remarkable massive crowds, joyful faces this year.

Taiwan's prop operate Waas more than a showcase for the island's liberties.

But also it's achievement in containing coronavirus, it seems to real, to many others around the world, still suffering from the outbreak.

But here that has never been any kind of locked down.

People have gone through more than 200 days without a local transmission record.

Jason Wang, a public health expert from Stanford University, has been studying the Taiwan model since the early stage after pandemic.

He traveled twice from the US to Taiwan this year.

One of the things that I noticed immediately is how serious that they take the quarantine procedures on DSO.

They track you by sort of your cellular signals on your phone, the location where we will undergoing quarantine.

There were barely any signals.

And so, uh, so we got visited by the police and the public Health Department.

Speedy and strengthen Border control is the most important key to success except residents and travelers with special visas.

Nobody is allowed to enter Taiwan even though it's too late for regions like the US and Europe to stop the virus at the border.

The expert things that contact tracing, quarantine and universal mask wearing are still relevant lessons that should be learned from Taiwan just because you have lockdowns and then you release people and then you lock down getting through these people it does not necessarily help.

Data is actually critical.

A data, uh, coming from testing or are you know, data coming from, uh, individuals for contact tracing that needs thio be standardized.

And in order to mount an effective response Taiwan success in fighting the pandemic not only benefits is public health, but also the economy theory.

Island will mention make it one of few economies in the world to expand this year, with around 1.5% GDP growth as forecast.

Taiwan's Kovar 19 defense strategy works now is exploring more sustainable ways to step forward as some scientists, including Jason Wang and also local professor Zhang Chang Chen, suggested the authority Taiwan will be qualified to reopen its border in the near future.

We can come up a kind of formula that we can, uh, shorten the quarantine days by increasing testing with affordable, you know, coast.

Even with machine developed and distributed, we still need this.

They hope, by establishing credible travel bubbles, Taiwan can set, in other example, to lead the world into a new normal.

Joining us is Dale Fisher, professor of infectious diseases at National University of Singapore, a Dale.

One thing I keep hearing is that Taiwan is a small island.

New Zealand is another example, and that what they're doing can't really scale up for Europe or the United States.

What's your take?

Oh, it's certainly very difficult the countries you mentioned.

Um likewise, China, Thailand, Vietnam, they've got like a zero tolerance policy.

If you like, they try and eradicate.

If they have any cases, they have severe lockdowns.

Massive testing.

Andrea Lee Try and get it back to zero.

That's that's their strategy on DSO.

Do you think that the strategies that Taiwan has employed would be able to then cross over and be used by the United States, which clearly the government there has not really employed a lot of the strategies that we see in Taiwan?

I don't think it would be feasible.

I think it's especially at this stage of the outbreak.

I don't believe people would be tolerant for the imposition that these policies have.

They're very good for for health, but they really t to get cases to zero.

But it really means a lot of vigilance.

A lot of locked down tight border controls, these types of things and and we know these have major economic and social impacts.

Um, I think a more reasonable model that you might compare for Europe and Asia might be that seen by other countries, so Europe and the US would be seen in other countries in in Asia, such as Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea.

UM, Hong Kong, Japan.

These countries tolerate cases, even tolerate clusters.

But try and shut down these clusters.

They've got very strong public health systems, Uh, but this allows for a little bit more leniency in terms of the lockdowns and the social restrictions and that intensity of mass testing that's that's required when you when you have a case.

So that's a slightly different strategy, which is a degree of tolerance.

And if you like living with the virus, what, of course you can't no one should be prepared to accept is free flowing community transmission, which is what's happening in, uh in Europe in the States at the moment.

You know, one thing that you keep hearing when you look at what's happening in Asia, especially East Asia, is just that the people, the citizens, their arm or obedient that their confusion culture makes them prioritize the collective over the individual.

That could be kind of a stereotype.

Do you buy that argument?

Looking at all the countries that you just mentioned and listen, I think if if in any of these Asian countries, if there was harsh lockdowns and then it was unlocked and then there was mad, spread and and again, large numbers of cases, deaths and the need for more lockdowns.

I would say, uh, that the same frustrations that we're seeing from the communities in Europe and the Americas E I think you would see it in in many parts of Asia.

But the point is, is that the the action was fast and decisive.

The public health systems were built up.

Any lockdowns were minor and brief, and therefore there's trust in the government trust in the strategy on, if you think about it, Europe did lock down, right?

They are wearing masks.

Eso things that you thought wouldn't be tolerated before now are being tolerated, so I don't think it's entirely cultural.

If it's not cultural, then I wonder if it's political.

Taiwan is a democracy.

China isn't Singapore, for that matter isn't either.

Do you think the form of government matters in the fight against the pandemic?

I think what matters is the relationship between government health departments and the public, and we call it risk communications community engagement that that has that that's the number one pillar in any outbreak response, Uh, whether it's Ebola or any type of infectious diseases that sprint spreading in a in an epidemic sort of way.

You have to engage the people so that they can understand how to protect themselves.

They can understand how to assist in the predicament because they're critical and in, you know, any less away is covert 19, where it's community spread and how the community behinds is absolutely directly related to the outcomes deal.

Fisher, Thank you so much for your time, My pleasure.