Taiwan reported its first locally transferred Covid-19 case since April on Tuesday, breaking a string of more than 250 days without it, according to figures released by the island’s ministry of health.
The ministry said it was a woman in her thirties who had been in contact with another positive cause, a foreign pilot, between December 8 and 12.
The island of 23 million people last reported a locally transferred case on April 12.
Taiwan also reported three imported cases on Tuesday, bringing the total number of Covid-19 infections since the start of the pandemic to 770. Only seven people have died from the coronavirus in Taiwan.
According to Taiwanese state media, a top Taiwan health official said on Monday that the island would not consider banning flights from the UK after a new species was discovered, as adequate preventive measures have already been taken.
Taiwan outbreak: Taipei’s response to the coronavirus pandemic is one of the most effective in the world.
Taiwan has never had to implement strict lockdowns. Nor did it resort to drastic restrictions on civil liberties, as in mainland China.
Instead, Taiwan’s response was focused on speed. Taiwanese authorities began screening passengers on direct flights from Wuhan, where the virus was first identified, on December 31, 2019 – when the virus was mostly the subject of rumors and limited reporting.
Taiwan confirmed its first reported case of the novel coronavirus on Jan. 21 and subsequently banned Wuhan residents from traveling to the island. All passengers arriving from mainland China, Hong Kong and Macao had to be screened.
All of this happened before Wuhan itself was shut down on January 23. In March, Taiwan banned most foreign nationals from entering the island, except for diplomats, residents, and those with special entry visas.