Let us understand what happened in Singapore and Taiwan, due to which both the places considered to be the safest in the Corona crisis are now facing an epidemic. Apart from this, what can India learn from this.
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Taiwan and Singapore (Singapore) fought against Coronavirus in the best way worldwide. He was highly praised for this. There have been zero corona cases in both countries since the beginning of this year. But this month, there were cases of infection in both the places. In Singapore, where only 248 cases were reported last week, 1200 people were infected in Taiwan.
It was a very small number to see, but it was unimaginable to come across so many cases in both the countries a few months ago. The result of this is that the Corona restrictions have been tightened in both places. People crowds have been limited and schools have been closed. In such a situation, let us understand what happened in Singapore and Taiwan due to which both the places considered to be the safest in the Corona crisis are now facing an epidemic. Apart from this, what can India learn from this.
What did Taiwan do wrong that increased corona cases?
According to the BBC report, soon after the Corona case in China, Taiwan banned the entry of foreign nationals into the country. The border restrictions in the country were also tightened. But when the case was reduced, the government and the public gradually started to become complacent. Large scale testing of people slowed down. By the middle of February, only 0.57 percent of the tests were done on 1000 people in Taiwan. It is assumed that people who have some symptoms, they may not have corona. Doctors also started to be negligent and contact tracing was banned.
The quarantine rules made by the Taiwan government regarding pilots not having the vaccine were also relaxed. The 14-day quarantine period was first extended for five days and then only for three days. Soon after, the Corona clusters surfaced among pilots from China. These were all infected with UK variants and these variants quickly spread to Taiwan. It spread to the famous entertainment house under the name ‘Tea House’. The people who went to party in these tea houses started to deny the fact of going here. This made contact tracing difficult. This was the reason that this virus spread rapidly in the country.
After all, what went wrong in Singapore?
The government continued to impose strict restrictions even after fewer cases of corona in Singapore. Only eight people were allowed to attend the public function. The club was not allowed to open and the number of people was fixed at events such as weddings. But in mid-May, Singapore’s Changi Airport emerged as the largest cluster in the country. This airport is also a popular shopping center. Many airport staff were working in the zone where passengers from high-risk countries of Corona arrive. In this way some staff members got infected.
This infected staff used to go to the food court of the airport to eat food, which was also open to the general public. In this way the virus reached the common people. The result of this is that now Singapore has closed its passenger terminal. Investigation revealed that most of the infected people were infected with the dangerous B.1.617 variants. Singapore said that it will now separate flights and passengers coming from high risk and low risk countries of Corona.
Both countries are very upset due to this one problem
Taiwan and Singapore are troubled by a problem that is similar in both countries. This is a vaccine problem. When the situation improved in Taiwan, people refused to get the vaccine. In addition, the AstraZeneca vaccine is being vaccinated in Taiwan. The fear that arose regarding this vaccine put the ghee in the fire. At the same time, now people want to get vaccinated when the case increases. But the problem is that Taiwan does not have a vaccine stock. Taiwan, with a population of 24 million, has received only three lakh vaccines.
On the other hand, about 30 percent of the population in Singapore has received at least one vaccine dose. But the country has limited supply of vaccine, while the government has targeted to vaccinate the entire country by the end of this year. Now, in Singapore, which is facing a shortage of vaccines, preparations are being made to make their own vaccine.
What lesson do you get?
The case of Taiwan and Singapore gives a lesson to the world, including India, that countries should not lay down arms when Corona cases are low. They should increase contact tracing on getting clusters and should not let the speed of vaccination slow down. Also, enforce strict border restrictions should not be avoided. Apart from this, it should be considered before relaxing the quarantine rules made for foreign people.
Also read: Covid-19 Vaccine: Good news came from a study done in Spain on the first and second doses separately.
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