up and down

This is what Australia is doing to overcome the shortage of masks, gowns and gloves. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/23/more-than-100-australian-companies-ready-to-boost-ppe-stock-of-coronavirus-masks-gowns-and-gloves More than 130 Australian companies ready to boost PPE stock of coronavirus masks, gowns and gloves More than 130 Australian companies have responded to an urgent call to dramatically boost the manufacturing of face masks, gowns and gloves, as doctors report that some staff are going to extraordinary lengths to conserve stocks. The federal government has assured medical staff that stocks of personal protective equipment (PPE) are sufficient to deal with the immediate crisis posed by Covid-19. New stock has been released from the emergency national medical stockpile, and the Guardian understands the Department of Industry has convened a special unit to consider PPE supplies. Soldiers have also been sent in to the Victorian medical supplier Med-Con to assist in production as the company attempts to double its supply of surgical masks. Last week, the government issued a request for any company that might be able to produce PPE to come forward. The request was designed to map out Australia’s full capacity to produce PPE and to identify companies whose ability to manufacture it was not immediately apparent. The industry department said more than 130 companies had come forward in response so far. The ultimate aim is to “significantly increase the production of PPE products”, the department said. The companies are being asked to detail how they can help to produce surgical gowns, gloves, goggles, hand sanitiser, clinical waste bags, waste bag closure devices, blood and fluid spill kits, mask fit test kits or thermometers. The industry minister, Karen Andrews, said the government was moving quickly to ensure supply of PPE and expand domestic production. “So many companies are putting up their hands to help – whether it’s ramping up manufacturing, looking to switch up what they produce, or even just connecting with each other to make sure they have what they need,” Andrews told the Guardian. “This is a mighty challenge but our fighting spirit and Aussie ingenuity will ensure we get through this and come out stronger on the other side.” The World Health Organisation earlier this month urged all nations to lift their production of PPE by at least 40% and to remove export restrictions that are limiting global supply. “Without secure supply chains, the risk to healthcare workers around the world is real,” the WHO director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said. “Industry and governments must act quickly to boost supply, ease export restrictions and put measures in place to stop speculation and hoarding.” Despite the Australian government’s initial actions, the Australian Medical Association, the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons and the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners have all warned of difficulties in obtaining PPE right across the health sector. Sydney surgeon Ken Loi, chair of the RACS NSW state committee, said medical staff were taking care to conserve PPE stocks. Loi said the demands on PPE were unprecedented. “We know that there are shortages, they are working on it,” Loi told the Guardian. “We are working with government on sourcing more.” Loi said he had heard reports of medical staff having to reuse face masks. That practice is advised against when dealing with suspected Covid-19 cases. “I certainly hear from some of my GP colleagues that they have to do that, but it depends on the screening of the patient. I think people are now much more selective about how they see patients,” he said. “If we have to reuse it, it’s based on resources, and the government I believe is working on how we secure more supply.” Chris Moy, the AMA’s president in South Australia, said the initial release of 20m masks from the national stockpile “wasn’t even nearly enough”. He said the shortages of PPE were being felt across all aspects of the health system. “We are seeing it at the frontline, we are struggling,” he said. He said he was aware that the federal government was trying to find new sources of PPE. “As doctors on the frontline, and all other types of workers, including aged care workers, we really need to get that distribution out if they’ve got stores,” he said. “If there isn’t, we’ve got a significant problem.” Reports have emerged of price gouging on items such as face masks. The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners said those reports were “very concerning”. A spokesman said the college welcomed the opening up of the national medical stockpile to supply more PPE. But he said: “We also know that these are unprecedented times and supplies are in high demand around the world. It’s essential that GPs get continued support and the resources they need to ensure their protection, so we have the best possible frontline defence against this virus.”

It is always a doubt as to whether Tokyo 2020 Olympics can proceed just as planned by July 2021. Everyday we are seeing huge increase in the cases in all the different countries around the whole world. All the different countries around the whole world is badly infected by the virus. There is not one country in this world spared from the virus. Even the host country Japan is hard hit with lots of cases as well. Really doubted the game can go on as planned in 1 year time. SARS took 2 years from 2002 - 2003 to go off with much fewer cases and death. This virus is so deadly and so many death cases around the whole world already. Really doubed the virus can go off this year or next year.

@heywoodu Ha ha I guess shortage of masks, PPE and everything is a problem for all the different countries around the whole world now. Ventilators of course not enough as well. So now for masks the citizens can still sew the masks using cloth and make do with it to wear them. Then as for the PPE and ventilators it is up to the person in charge to solve the problem themselves. Actually PPE can be sewn.

Thanks for sharing. Very interesting.

This is the diagram of how the one belt and one road project looks like.

Read a very interesting article and I have posted it above. The title of the article caught my attention. So the one belt and one road project also help to spread the virus even faster at the countries mentioned below? Is there a coincidence? So those countries who have refused to be part of the one belt and one road project are perhaps the smart countries after all. One Belt One Road & One Virus? A summary of the article above said it all. The countries who are hardest hit by the impact of the virus seems to come from countries who are under the one belt and one road project. Below are the lists of countries under the one belt and one road project. At the same time they also share the common features. The countries as mentioned below are the countries hardest hit with the impact of the virus. Africa Djibouti Egypt Ethiopia Kenya Nigeria Sudan Europe Poland Greece Portugal Italy Austria Luxembourg Switzerland Caucasus Armenia Azerbaijan Georgia Russia and EEU Asia Central Asia (including all the middle east countries) Hong Kong Indonesia Laos Maldives Malaysia Pakistan Sri Lanka Thailand Turkey North and South America Argentina Jamaica

https://www.beltandroad.news/2020/03/31/one-belt-one-road-one-virus/ One Belt One Road & One Virus? The World Health Organisation’s (WHO) China Office heard the first reports of a previously unknown virus behind a number of pneumonia cases in Wuhan, a City in Eastern China with a population of over 11 million. What started as an epidemic mainly limited to China has now become a truly global pandemic. There have now been over 664,621 confirmed cases and over 30,800 deaths, according to the John Hopkins University, which collates information from national and international health authorities. The disease has been detected in more 199 countries and territories, with Italy, Iran and Spain experiencing the most widespread outbreaks outside of China. The Chinese government responded to the initial outbreak by placing Wuhan and nearby cities under a de-facto quarantine encompassing roughly 50 million people in Hubei province. This quarantine is now slowly being lifted, as authorities watch to see whether cases will rise again. In Italy, which is experiencing the largest outbreak outside of China, the government took the unprecedented step of extending a lockdown to the entire country, shutting cinemas, theatres, gyms, discos and pubs and banning funerals and weddings. In the UK, the government has shut pubs, restaurants, bars and cafés, advised people to avoid all unnecessary social interaction or travel and directed households in which one person falls ill with coronavirus symptoms to quarantine themselves for 14 days. By making the Belt & Road Initiative endeavour a multitrillion dollar program to expand Chinese trade and infrastructure around the world-the centrepiece of his foreign and economic policy, Chinese President Xi Jinping has made it possible for a local disease to become a global menace. The New Virus, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) scientists, has a reproductive rate of as high as 2.5, meaning each infected individual on average infects as many as 2.5 more people. China is also, however, a nation deeply connected to the rest of the world-far more so than was the case when SARS erupted in 2003. Since 2013, the centre of China’s foreign and trade policies is the Belt & Road Initiative, a massive loan project that includes land and maritime infrastructure, extending to northern Germany, across southern Russia and the Central Asian nations, and down the eastern coast of Africa. In what is surely the largest infrastructure and investment project in history, covering 70 core countries, the Belt & Road will eventually reach two-thirds of the world population. The Spread of Coronavirus to Italy & Iran This infection has spread to 190 countries throughout the world, but Italy and Iran have been the worst hit. While the total number of people infected by a virus in Italy is over 92,000 and the number of deaths is over 10,000, the country alone has the highest number of deaths and has even surpassed China. The third-highest number of deaths was recorded in Iran. According to a report, China’s ‘One Belt One Road’ (OBOR), i.e Belt & Road Project, is a major contributor to the spread of this infection in Italy and Iran. Despite being so far away from China, the cause of the outbreak of the coronavirus in these two countries can be easily explained by OBOR linkages. China has been aggressively pursuing this project for some time to advance its strategic and economic interests. Italy and Iran are two countries that are major stakeholders in this project. Italy has opened its infrastructure to transport, and even four major ports, to Chinese investment. Lombardy and Tuscany are the two regions with the highest Chinese investment. The first case in Italy was reported on 21 February. Iran which has been under severe US economic sanctions for a long time started encouraging Chinese investment, and in 2019, they joined the OBOR initiative for construction of 2 thousand mile long rail tracks crossing western China to Tehran, and to Turkey in Europe. In addition, the Railway Engineering Corporation of China is laying a $-2.7 billion high-speed railway line out of Qom. Along with this, Chinese technicians are also renovating the nuclear power plant in Iran. Iran’s health experts believe this infection spread to Qom, either from Chinese workers or businessmen coming from China. This clearly reveals that both Italy and Iran had received first coronavirus infection from China only. Relevant to mention that India has said a ‘big no’ to OBOR right from the very beginning. China has been capturing the world’s markets for a long time by adopting tactics like dumping, export subsidies and a variety of other tricks. In such a situation, manufacturing declined not only in India, but even in large developed countries like the US and Europe and many other countries around the world, and they also started facing payment crisis. Unemployment, especially youth unemployment has increased globally. Today, when the import of goods from China is not possible due to the lockdown there, manufacturing all around the world is hard to hit. The havoc of coronavirus on the one hand and the economic crisis and recession on the other, have been forcing the countries of the world to wonder whether China can remain in the centre stage of globalisation in times to come. Countries around the world may redefine their relationship with China and may try to reconstruct their industries, which had been hit by Chinese products and services. The latest example is Rs 3000 crore plan of the Indian government to revive the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API), that is, pharmaceutical industries’ raw materials. The Chinese government has also gotten active to minimise its infamy. The world will have to decide what will be the nature of further economic activities around the world, and they also started facing payment crisis. How did Covid-19 Start? The disease appears to have originated from a Wuhan seafood market where wild animals, including marmots, birds, rabbits, bats and snakes, are traded illegally. Corona-viruses are known to jump from animals to humans, so it’s thought that the first people infected with the disease, a group primarily made up of stallholders from the seafood market contracted it from contact with animals. Although an initial analysis of the virus that causes Covid-19 suggested it was similar to viruses seen in snakes, the hunt for the animal source of Covid-19 is still on. A team of virologists at the Wuhan Institute for Virology released a detailed paper showing that the new corona-viruses’ genetic makeup is 96 per cent identical to that of a coronavirus found in bats, while an as yet-unpublished study argues that genetic sequences of coronavirus in pangolins are 99 per cent similar to the human virus. Some early cases of Covid-19, however, appear to have inflicted people with no link to the Wuhan market at all, suggesting that the initial route of human infection may pre-date the market cases. The Wuhan market was shut down for inspection and cleaning on January 1, but by then it appears that Covid-19 was already starting to spread beyond the market itself. On January 21, the WHO Western Pacific office said the disease was also being transmitted between humans, evidence of which is apparent after medical staff became infected with the virus. Since then, evidence of widespread human-to-human transmission outside of China has been well established, making chances of containing the virus much harder. Iran, too, is seeing a surge in cases. The country has confirmed at least 2,500 deaths and 35,000 cases. Many cases are linked to Qom, a major Shiite religious centre and a city with more than one million residents. In the US, there have been more than 123,000 cases and over 2,200 deaths – a good number of them in Washington State, which has become the epicentre of the US outbreak. Writing for the American online magazine The Federalist, Helen Raleigh argues in her article that the ‘short-sighted and foolish decisions’ of the leaders of Italy and Iran to enthusiastically sign up for the OBOR in the hope to rescue their failing economies has left the two nations in a worse position following the outbreak of novel coronavirus. The presence of Chinese workers in Pakistan for the construction work under China-Pakistan-Economic-Corridor (CPEC) flagship project under the mega OBOR, has raised concerns of the exponential surge in the number of cases in that country. Pakistan has so far reported over 1,500 cases of coronavirus the highest among the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation Nations. With the OBOR, China has used the brand of the “New Silk Roads” and promised a 360-degree counter globalisation infrastructure project of sea and land routes between China-Asia, Africa and Europe by investing in ports, inland ports, railways, telecommunications, and digital roads. Against the warning of the European Union and the United States, Italy became the first and the only G7 country to sign onto the OBOR. The Italian government downplayed the development as “largely symbolic” saying it had no legal value, and pointed out to the fact that other European countries, like Malta, Greece, and Portugal, have already signed something similar. The first case of coronavirus in Italy was reported in Lombardy, the region that saw the most Chinese investment. Nearly a month from then, Lombardy is still the hardest-hit region, while the entire country has been in lockdown until at least April 3. The country’s economy is expected to contract 7.5 percent in the first quarter. A similar narrative unfolded in Iran when the Health officials traced the country’s coronavirus outbreak to Qom, a city of a million people. Medical professionals suspect that coronavirus spread in the city either through Chinese workers employed in projects under the OBOR, or an Iranian businessman who travelled to China.

https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3914778 US official applauds Taiwanese president's response to WHO chief Eliot Engel bashes WHO head for ‘baseless claims’ that Taiwan is fueling racist attacks against him TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Eliot Engel (D-NY), on Saturday (April 11) voiced his support for President Tsai Ing-wen after she rebuffed accusations by the World Health Organization (WHO) head Tedros Adhanom that Taiwan is responsible for launching a racist campaign against individuals of African descent. In a retweet of Tsai's protest against the director-general's racism charge, Engel applauded the Taiwanese government's handling of the situation and condemned Tedros for his "baseless claims." He urged the WHO official to put aside his political agenda and learn from Taiwan's success in containing the spread of Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19). Engel stressed that Tedros should "check out Taiwan's record" of coronavirus prevention, which he said would advance the WHO's international efforts. Since Tedros on Wednesday (April 8) accused the Taiwanese Foreign Ministry of organizing a series of racial attacks and death threats against him, many Taiwanese, as well as international leaders, have heavily criticized the global health official for smearing the country's reputation. President Tsai even encouraged Tedros to visit the island nation to see that "the Taiwanese people are the true victims of unfair treatment," reported ETtoday.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/04/10/asia-pacific/taiwan-chinese-trolls-racism-who/#.XpfCScgzbb0 Taiwan accuses Chinese trolls of fomenting racism spat with WHO Taiwan accused Chinese internet users of spreading fabricated expressions of remorse in a coordinated effort to paint Taipei as the source of a campaign of racist abuse against the head of the World Health Organization. Chinese internet users are claiming to be Taiwanese and apologizing for racist attacks against WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Taiwan’s Investigation Bureau said at a briefing Friday. The fake posts are easily identifiable as they all use identical wording, said the bureau’s head of cybersecurity Chang Yu-jen. The posts all say the following: “As a Taiwanese, I feel extremely ashamed that we attacked Tedros in such a malicious way. I apologize to Tedros on behalf of the Taiwanese and beg for his forgiveness.” They all appear to be from China-based accounts that mainly feature the simplified Chinese characters used in the mainland. The wave of posts came after Tedros claimed Wednesday to have been the target of a three-month campaign of online abuse from Taiwan over his handling of the global coronavirus outbreak. He didn’t provide any evidence to back up his claims of Taiwan’s involvement. President Tsai Ing-wen expressed “strong protest” against Tedros’s allegation that it was behind the attacks and invited him to visit Taiwan. “Taiwan always objects to discrimination in any form. We know how it feels to be discriminated against and isolated more than anyone else as we have been excluded from global organizations for years,” she said in a post on her official Facebook page. “So I’d like to invite Tedros to visit Taiwan, to see how Taiwanese commit to devote to international society despite being discriminated and isolated.” Taiwan has long sought to gain membership to the WHO and other global organizations affiliated with the United Nations but has been barred by China, which views the island as part of its territory — a claim Taiwan’s government rejects. Beijing has a history of spreading disinformation about Taiwan’s government via its so-called 50-cent army, groups of internet users paid to disseminate information that helps achieve the Chinese government’s political goals. Researchers have traced efforts to delegitimize Tsai’s pro-independence administration back to China, including in the run-up to January’s presidential election. Taiwan has fared better than many countries and regions in Asia in the fight against the virus, with about 380 confirmed cases as of Friday, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Tsai’s government should stop “weaving lies and inciting hatred” and focus on combating the virus, Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office said in a statement on its website Friday.

Female leaders are doing greater to combat the virus compared to the male leaders. https://edition.cnn.com/2020/04/14/asia/women-government-leaders-coronavirus-hnk-intl/index.html Women leaders are doing a disproportionately great job at handling the pandemic. So why aren't there more of them? (CNN)In Taiwan, early intervention measures have controlled the coronavirus pandemic so successfully that it is now exporting millions of face masks to help the European Union and others. Germany has overseen the largest-scale coronavirus testing program in Europe, conducting 350,000 tests each week, detecting the virus early enough to isolate and treat patients effectively. In New Zealand, the prime minister took early action to shut down tourism and impose a month-long lockdown on the entire country, limiting coronavirus casualties to just nine deaths. All three places have received accolades for their impressive handling of the coronavirus pandemic. They are scattered across the globe: one is in the heart of Europe, one is in Asia and the other is in the South Pacific. But they have one thing in common: they're all led by women. The success of these and other women-led governments in dealing with a global pandemic is all the more noteworthy, given that women make up less than 7% of world leaders. Early, decisive action These countries -- all multi-party democracies with high levels of public trust in their governments -- have contained the pandemic through early, scientific intervention. They have implemented widespread testing, easy access to quality medical treatment, aggressive contact tracing and tough restrictions on social gatherings. Take Taiwan, a democracy of almost 24 million people -- with roughly the same population as Australia -- off China's east coast. Taiwan is claimed by Beijing as its territory and shunned by the World Health Organization, so it should have been highly vulnerable to an epidemic originating in mainland China. But when Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen heard about a mysterious new virus infecting the citizens of Wuhan in December last year, she immediately ordered all planes arriving from Wuhan to be inspected. She then set up an epidemic command center, ramped up production of personal protective equipment such as face masks and restricted all flights from mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau. Taiwan's early, aggressive intervention measures have limited the outbreak to just 393 confirmed infections and six deaths. The US State Department cites Taiwan's coronavirus success in calling for Taiwan to be given observer status in the WHO's World Health Assembly. Germany, with 83 million citizens, has had over 132,000 infections but very low deaths per million -- far lower than most other European countries. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, with a doctorate in quantum chemistry, has seen her approval ratings soar due to her capable handling of the pandemic. Germany has the most intensive care beds and the largest-scale coronavirus testing program in Europe. "Maybe our biggest strength in Germany ... is the rational decision-making at the highest level of government combined with the trust the government enjoys in the population," Hans-Georg Kräusslich, the head of virology at University Hospital in Heidelberg, told the New York Times. But Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern shut New Zealand's borders to foreign visitors on March 19 and announced a four-week lockdown of the country on March 23, requiring all non-essential workers to stay at home except for grocery shopping or exercising nearby. The country has carried out widespread testing and recorded over 1,300 coronavirus cases, but only nine deaths. New Zealand is only halfway through its lockdown, and Ardern has said it won't end early. "In the face of the greatest threat to human health we have seen in over a century, Kiwis have quietly and collectively implemented a nationwide wall of defense," Ardern said in a speech to the nation Thursday. The Nordic countries Four of the five Nordic countries are led by women. Their countries each have lower death rates from coronavirus compared to the rest of Europe. For example, Finland's Prime Minister, 34-year-old Sanna Marin, is the world's youngest leader but she has an 85% approval rating among Finns for her preparedness for the pandemic, with only 59 deaths in a population of 5.5 million. Iceland's Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir governs a small, island country of only 360,000 people. But its large-scale, randomized testing of the coronavirus could have broad ramifications for the rest of the world, as it has found that around half of all people who test positive for the virus are asymptomatic. Iceland also intervened early, aggressively contact-tracing and quarantining suspected coronavirus cases. Contrast these interventionist responses with Sweden -- the only Nordic country not led by a woman -- where Prime Minister Stefan Löfven refused to impose a lockdown and has kept schools and businesses open. There, the death rate has soared far higher than in most other European countries. Other female heads of state have also made headlines through their tough response to the coronavirus. Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs of Sint Maarten governs a tiny Caribbean island of just 41,000, but her no-nonsense video telling citizens to "simply stop moving" for two weeks has gone viral around the world. "If you do not have the type of bread you like in your house, eat crackers. If you do not have bread, eat cereal. Eat oats," she says emphatically. 'Incompetent, science-denialist men' Of course, South Korea's (male) President Moon Jae-in has deservedly received praise for flattening the curve of infections in his country through widespread testing. But many countries led by incompetent, science-denialist men have led to catastrophic coronavirus outbreaks. The epicenter of the pandemic is now the United States, where President Trump initially accused the Democratic party of politicizing the virus as a "hoax" and failed to heed multiple warnings from top scientists for months. That helped bring about the current emergency of over 25,000 coronavirus deaths and a half-million cases, which continue to mount each day. Similarly, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson dismissed the severity of the public health crisis and refused to introduce restrictions on social gatherings long after other European countries went on lockdown. Before he was hospitalized with Covid-19, he told reporters that the virus would not stop him from shaking hands with hospital patients. And the coronavirus would not have spread throughout the world as swiftly if Chinese President Xi Jinping had not allowed five million people to leave Wuhan before it went on lockdown. More women needed? It's too early to say definitively which leaders will emerge as having taken enough of the right steps to control the spread of coronavirus -- and save lives. But the examples above show that a disproportionately large number of leaders who acted early and decisively were women. Yet, on January 1, 2020 only 10 of 152 elected heads of state were women, according the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the United Nations -- and men made up 75% of parliamentarians, 73% of managerial decision-makers and 76% of the people in mainstream news media. "We have created a world where women are squeezed into just 25% -- one quarter -- of the space, both in physical decision-making rooms, and in the stories that we tell about our lives. One quarter is not enough," said UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka. It is long past time for us to recognize that the world is in dire need of more women leaders and equal representation of women at all levels of politics. At the very least, the disproportionate number of women leaders succeeding in controlling this pandemic -- so far -- should show us that gender equality is critical to global public health and international security.

https://thediplomat.com/2020/04/how-taiwan-battles-the-coronavirus/ How Taiwan Battles the Coronavirus Taiwan is living proof that control of an emerging virus can be achieved through science, technology, and democratic governance. The whole world is fighting against the coronavirus pandemic. Facing a new virus, infectious disease experts as well as government officials gear up to implement measures to control and mitigate its damage. Several Asian governments have been touted for their relatively successful control of the first wave of the epidemic: Singapore, South Korea, and Hong Kong. What’s left out in the discussion is what a small Pacific Ocean island the size of Maryland has achieved in fighting COVID-19. The reason? The island of Formosa, or Taiwan, is not a member of the WHO. No explicit data from Taiwan has been shown in the WHO daily briefings. Hit hard by the 2003 SARS epidemic that claimed 73 Taiwanese lives and affected another 346, Taiwan undertook serious preparations for a future epidemic. Thus the country became hypervigilant once the first case of mysterious pneumonia was reported in Wuhan, China. On January 20, Taiwan established a Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) composed of medical and public health experts and spearheaded by Vice President Dr. Chen Chien-jen, himself a well respected epidemiologist, and led by Dr. Shi-Chung Chen. Surveillance, contact tracing, and isolation/quarantine were implemented straight away. Taiwan has managed to maintain a low case count through vigorous public health measures. There has not been any shut down of theaters, department stores, and, most importantly, schools although large gatherings are discouraged. Taiwan saw a surge of cases March, mostly among students or expatriates returning from Europe and North America. While it put additional strain on the system, a strict quarantine was executed. Today a total of 80,000 people are under isolation and monitored with daily temperature and symptom checks, which are tracked by phone. Should the GPS data from a quarantined person’s phone indicate movement outside of a certain range, a follow-up phone call will be placed to confirm the person’s location. Taiwan started COVID-19 RT-PCR tests in January. At the beginning tests were applied to people returning from the epidemic area or symptomatic patients with relevant travel history. When there was a surge of case numbers in neighboring Asian countries, health authorities did a retrospective screening of patients reported as having a severe flu. This identified the first case without any travel history (it turned out that the patient was a cab driver who had given a ride to a passenger from Zhejiang, China, another epidemic region). The CECC swiftly adjusted its criteria for surveillance and testing based on the development of the epidemic. Most recently, any patients who report a loss of the sense of smell or taste are mandated to be tested. There are 373 cases as of April 6. In contrasts to previous reports from China, the patient demographic in Taiwan is much younger (with a median age of 32) with more female than male patients (57 to 43 percent). Of note, only 49 percent of patients presented with fever while 37 percent had rhinorrhea (commonly referred to as a runny nose). Only 7 percent of patients presented with full-blown pneumonia. In addition to requiring physical distancing of more than 1 meter in public, as of April 1, face masks are mandatory when taking public transportation. As early as January, Taiwan’s government ramped up the production of face masks and other personal protective equipment (PPE) as well as critical medical supplies. Sophisticated plans have been mapped out to triage patients to better utilize negative pressure rooms in preparation for any surge of community acquired patients. We are cautiously optimistic, with sporadic community acquired cases without travel or contact history. Fighting the coronavirus is an all-hands-on-deck effort; CECC leads the effort with very effective coordination between government agencies. A “epidemic fighting fleet” has been assembled by the Department of Transportation to pick up passengers returning from epidemic areas to facilitate contact tracing. Apps were developed to streamline face mask buying. The virus might mutate fast, but our trans-agency effort also responds swiftly. In addition to strict public health measures, we also strive to develop point of care diagnostics and antibody assays, hoping to advance the science as well as better identify patients. The thriving biomed industry in Taiwan is taking part in the development of therapeutics and vaccines; Silmitasertib (CX-4945) is one promising candidate being investigated right now. Taiwan is not only a beacon of democracy, but also living proof that control of an emerging virus can be achieved through science, technology, and democratic governance. No draconian autocratic measures are required.

https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/04/14/834431383/taiwan-reports-no-new-coronavirus-cases-adding-to-success-in-fighting-pandemic Taiwan Reports No New Coronavirus Cases, Adding To Success In Fighting Pandemic April 14, 20204:49 PM ET Taiwan reported no new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, marking the first time authorities there have reported zero new cases in more than a month. It's also the latest achievement for a health system that first acted to prevent the spread of COVID-19 back in December. Taiwan, with a population of around 23 million, has just 393 confirmed COVID-19 cases; six people have died from the disease. The last time Taiwan's Central Epidemic Command Center announced no new cases was on March 9 – 36 days ago. Taiwan has won praise for keeping the coronavirus under control despite its close links with China. Millions of people travel between the island and the mainland every year — including 2.7 million visitors from the mainland last year. Because of its aggressive and early response to the coronavirus, Taiwan — like Hong Kong and South Korea — has been able to avoid lockdown measures and keep many schools, restaurants and offices open. An academic paper published in the Journal of the American Medical Association last month credited Taiwan's government with taking 124 actions to identify potential cases of the then-emerging respiratory virus. Some of those steps, taken in January, included limiting the price of face masks and barring their export. By Jan. 24, Taiwan was setting up COVID-19 testing facilities at the federal disease control center and eight hospitals. "Taiwan activated a response command center, sent a fact-finding team to China, imposed swift travel bans and quarantines," as NPR reported last month. The government also took high-tech measures to trace people who might be infected, or who came in contact with someone who was. In a single day, the JAMA study stated, Taiwanese agencies merged patients' past 14-day travel history with their public health insurance information, combining data from health identification cards and from the immigration agency. The island graded travelers according to their risk of infection based on where they had been. According to the researchers, people with the highest risk "were quarantined at home and tracked through their mobile phone to ensure that they remained at home during the incubation period."

https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/International-relations/Taiwan-sees-doors-open-in-Europe-as-virus-response-earns-respect Taiwan sees doors open in Europe as virus response earns respect Taipei reaches out to Czechs and others while pandemic hurts China's reputation PRAGUE -- The list of Taiwan's formal diplomatic ties in Europe is short: It begins and ends with the Vatican. But the coronavirus pandemic, which has underscored the island's isolation and sparked an escalating feud with the World Health Organization, may be opening up some diplomatic opportunities for Taipei. Earlier this month, Taiwan inked an official partnership with the Czech Republic on fighting COVID-19 -- its first such arrangement. President Tsai Ing-wen's government has also donated 7 million face masks to Europe, including 5.6 million to nine European Union states, earning an unusually high-profile thank you. "The European Union thanks Taiwan for its donation of 5.6 million masks to help fight the #coronavirus," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen tweeted on April 2. "We really appreciate this gesture of solidarity." Taipei has long been excluded from the international community at the behest of Beijing, which claims the island as a wayward province. This freeze-out includes the WHO, prompting loud complaints from Taipei. Yet, Taiwan has also earned global respect for a rapid outbreak response that has kept its confirmed infections below 400 and its death toll at just six as of Sunday. Meanwhile, the crisis has had the opposite effect on China's reputation. Its smoke screen in the early days of the outbreak in Wuhan has only deepened European distrust. EU officials and analysts stress that governments are unlikely to switch recognition from China to Taiwan anytime soon. Some experts, however, see a possibility of more informal diplomacy with Taiwan in the months ahead. Taiwan's deal with the Czech Republic "will boost efforts to manage the COVID-19 pandemic through research and development of rapid testing kits, medicines, and vaccines," a Taiwanese foreign ministry spokesperson told the Nikkei Asian Review. "Both sides will as well share key materials and best practices." This open cooperation did not come out of nowhere. Over the past year, the "pro-Taiwan" mayor of Prague, Zdenek Hrib, has repeatedly rebuked Beijing for its human rights record and its claim of sovereignty over Taiwan under the "one China" principle. In January, Hrib moved to replace Prague's sister-city relationship with Beijing for one with Taipei. And in March, Prime Minister Andrej Babis reportedly called on China to replace its ambassador, who had allegedly threatened businesses with retaliation if a senior Czech politician visited Taipei. "The Czech Republic has been one of the avant-garde countries when it comes to pushing some politically sensitive issues related to China," said Richard Q. Turcsanyi, program director at the Central European Institute of Asian Studies at Palacky University Olomouc, in the Czech Republic. "Although it has never recognized Taiwan diplomatically, it had long sustained very active and high-level links to the island." The question is whether more European countries might follow the Czechs' lead. Jeremy Garlick, assistant professor of international relations at the University of Economics in Prague, reckons there will be "only isolated pockets of recognition for Taiwan." "Some politicians across Europe may seek to boost relations with Taiwan and downplay China's role," he added. "But this is not likely to be supported at the government level in the majority of countries." Still, others think European countries may be more inclined to work with Taiwan. They might not recognize its independence. But with carefully calibrated cooperation, they could send Beijing a strong message without -- they would hope -- jeopardizing the trade and investment Europe will need to recover from the looming global recession. This approach would show "that for the EU and most Europeans, the Chinese Communist regime has become a problem and there are no more reasons and need to pretend to be friends and partners," said Jean-Pierre Cabestan, a political science professor at Hong Kong Baptist University. "We are 'systemic rivals' and it is time to tell [China], and to carry it out in terms of policies." The European Commission itself used the term "systemic rival" to describe China in a March 2019 report. That same month, French President Emmanuel Macron declared that the "time of European naivete" toward China was over. Skepticism of China in European capitals, driven by concerns over cyberspying, has hardened since the coronavirus epidemic began. Besides anger over its alleged cover-up of the initial outbreak, Beijing has not helped its cause by donating face masks the Netherlands said were faulty and test kits that Spain rejected as "substandard." In the U.K., a conservative think tank estimated that Group of Seven nations alone could sue China for 3.2 trillion pounds ($3.9 trillion) in damages, over breaches of international health regulations. Fifteen politicians from the ruling Conservative Party wrote to Prime Minister Boris Johnson to demand a "rethink and a reset" of relations with Beijing. Exactly how much this resentment will help Taiwan remains to be seen. As things stand, Taiwan maintains only unofficial diplomatic relations with 21 European countries, including the U.K., through "Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Offices." Twenty-five European states -- mostly in the east and the Balkans -- have no ties with Taiwan whatsoever. France and the U.K. are typically supportive of Taiwan having more say on the international stage. But Germany, Europe's largest economy and the key decider of EU policy, is more hesitant. In January, Chancellor Angela Merkel did not join her British and French counterparts in publicly congratulating Tsai on her re-election. When asked about von der Leyen's tweet, Virginie Battu-Henriksson, the EU spokesperson for foreign affairs and security policy, told the Nikkei Asian Review that it "does not constitute any change of the EU policy toward Taiwan. The EU maintains its "One China" policy: We recognize the government of the People's Republic of China as the sole government of China." She added: "The EU promotes practical solutions regarding Taiwan's participation in international frameworks wherever this is consistent with the EU's "One China" policy and the EU's policy objectives." There is little doubt that beating COVID-19 is a policy objective everyone shares. European institutions are also engaging with Taiwan's national research academy, Academia Sinica, on vaccine development. This came after similar teamwork between Taiwan and the U.S. prompted Beijing to lash out: The State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office accused Taipei of a "despicable move and political plot to use the COVID-19 pandemic to achieve independence." Turcsanyi said it is uncertain how China will respond to European fine-tuning of positions on Taiwan. "Under normal circumstances, China would not want to undermine the relationship with one of its most important international partners," he said of the EU. "However, Chinese diplomacy has been turning nationalistic in recent months and years, and I wouldn't bet on China's restraint." A lot will depend on how many European countries draw closer to Taipei, according to Mareike Ohlberg, an analyst at the Mercator Institute for China Studies in Berlin. If it is only a "smaller number, China may try to isolate and pressure these countries," she said. Taiwan, for its part, insists it is not looking for favors when it donates equipment or helps with research. "The gifts are given with no strings attached," the foreign ministry representative said. "There's no political agenda. Taiwan did this because we have the capability to help others."

The success story of a European country Czech Republic who managed to control the virus successfully. https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/european-mayor-who-doesnt-want-chinas-help-virus (April 2): Since becoming mayor of Prague more than two years ago, Zdenek Hrib has repeatedly irked China by meeting dissidents, criticizing its treatment of ethnic minorities and promoting ties with Taiwan. Now, the 38-year-old Pirate Party member is a symbol of the skepticism Beijing will have to overcome as it rushes to aid a Europe ravaged by a pandemic that began on Chinese soil. The Czech Republic was among numerous European countries to receive virus test kits and other medical supplies from China in recent weeks. “This isn’t a humanitarian gift or aid,” Hrib told Bloomberg News in a statement Friday. “From China’s perspective, it’s business.” Such sentiments are hardly surprising from Hrib, who flew the Tibetan flag over city hall March 10 to commemorate the anniversary of the region’s failed 1959 revolt against Communist Party rule. The defiant move -- a throwback to late President Vaclav Havel’s support for the Dalai Lama -- came at a sensitive time for Beijing just as the coronavirus was prompting its first lockdowns in Europe. The pandemic has shaken up China’s diplomatic efforts on the continent, which has been a major focus of President Xi Jinping’s “Belt and Road” plan to recreate ancient trade routes across Asia. In recent weeks, Xi’s government -- confident that the coronavirus is under control at home -- has sent supplies and disease experts to Europe, where the disease as killed more than 20,000. Many such as the Czech Republic’s China-friendly president, Milos Zeman, have gladly accepted the support. Hrib represents another strain of Czech and European politics that’s skeptical of Beijing’s promises and its strategic aims. “I would really like us to be a country that wouldn’t steer away from the tradition of human rights,” Hrib told Bloomberg in a previous interview last year. “A country that would not turn away from victims of injustice, but one that offers a helping hand.” Hrib’s moves have prompted angry protests by China and the Shanghai municipal government severed economic ties with Prague after he entered a partnership with the Taiwanese capital, Taipei. If Prague keeps challenging China on Taiwan, Xinjiang or Tibet issues, the Chinese government will continue to respond with firm countermeasures, said Shi Yinhong, an adviser to China’s cabinet and also a professor of international relations at Renmin University in Beijing. “The Czech Republic, faced with the coronavirus challenge, took an opportunistic turn by seeking aid from China while its traditional European allies are unable even to fend for themselves,” Shi said. “China, which is aiming to project its victory overseas, enforced the narrative by offering help.” Tibet Issue (Secret of their success is written in the paragraph below - Learn from Taiwan) Czechs critical of Beijing’s coronavirus support have highlighted problems with some 300,000 quick tests purchased from China, which health authorities said only worked if patients had been infected for at least five days, while about one-third were defective. China has said that inaccurate results can be caused by user error and cautioned against politicizing any issues with faulty equipment. “This is China fulfilling its role as a responsible major country and the Chinese people making kind and selfless contribution to the global response,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Tuesday in response a question about whether Beijing was using its assistance to sway public opinion. “I believe that such efforts are worthy of respect, not disparagement.” Before Hrib took over in 2018 -- his first elected post -- Prague’s position toward China had been aligned with the country’s official diplomatic stance, focused on economic ties. Two years earlier, Czech police suppressed peaceful protests and forced people to remove Tibetan flags from their homes during a visit by Xi. Bilateral relations between China and the Czechs reached a pinnacle in 2015, when Zeman joined Xi at a military parade in Beijing to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. Zeman was the only EU head of state in attendance. Hrib, the Pirate Party’s former health policy expert, developed a fondness for democratically run Taiwan when he spent two months there as a medical student in 2005. A certificate of honorary citizenship to Taipei hangs on his office wall. While his views resonate with a much of Prague’s liberal population, it contradicts the Czech Republic’s “one China” foreign policy. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said in October that the Prague city government had since 2018 “repeatedly made erroneous moves and inappropriate remarks on major issues concerning China’s core interests such as topics regarding Taiwan and Tibet.” Tensions between Prague and the Chinese government came to a head in January 2019, when the Chinese ambassador, Zhang Jianmin, demanded that a representative of Taiwan be expelled from a reception hosted by Hrib. “I refused, and I told him that here we don’t throw out guests we invited,” Hrib said. “So the ambassador rushed out himself.”

The research is not totally done at the BSL lab with grade 4. There are 2 labs in Wuhan. 1 with grade 4 and the other one is not grade 4. Yes the researcher moved about between these 2 labs in Wuhan. As said it was an accident. The scientists are doing the research inside the lab and they accidentally got infected with the virus without them even noticing it. That is how the virus pass on to other people in Wuhan. According to the articles I read, it is mentioned that the scientists doing the research inside the lab lack of personal protective gear.

@OlympicsFan The virus accidentally escaped from the lab. The scientists are doing research at the lab on daily basis. Somehow majority of the scientists doing the research at the lab got infected with the virus while doing the experiments at the lab. The virus can spread very fast. So it is if no wonder that the scientists caught the virus form the lab. Then the scientists themselves did not know that they have caught the deadly virus and mingle around and mix around with other people too. That is how the virus become wide spread due to the lab accident. There are also reports saying the scientists at the labs are accidentally splashed with the bats blood and urine while doing the research.

You are right about this part. The virus as said is an accident at the lab. The scientists are doing the research at the lab. In the midst of doing the research the scientist got infected with the virus. The first patient zero is Huang Yanling who has already passed away. She is one of the researcher at the lab.

Whether school should reopen or remain close is the massive question now.

Good and great to hear this. Here in Australia we still have confusion and debate on whether schools should reopen or not.

Mixed Messaging on Schools.

Alright thank you very much for pointing it out.

Yes I do not mind telling people that I am proud to be an Australian after all. Our health care system here is quite good. Our response to this pandemic has been fantastic as well. We gave done lots of mass testing and we have managed to detect cases at the earlier stage. Out health care system here is so far so good. I think it is much better than US by now. Our response here bas been fast as compared to US. This is not me bragging about my good system here. We in Australia have news channels that provide us with the latest updates about the virus. Quite good and we are all well informed here.

Good news arrived. Vaccines for the virus found at last. Now still in the trial stage. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/04/china-approves-coronavirus-vaccines-human-trials-200414083310079.html China has approved early-stage human tests for two experimental coronavirus vaccines as it battles to contain imported cases and prevent a second wave of COVID-19. The experimental vaccines are being developed by a Beijing-based unit of Sinovac Biotech and by the Wuhan Institute of Biological Products, an affiliate of state-owned China National Pharmaceutical Group, state news agency Xinhua reported on Tuesday.

Alright nice to hear that. How does it feel like being a citizen living in China? Do you mind telling us?

It is high time to let Dr. Faucy take over the whole press conference and let him do his job without inteference. Ha ha.