IJERPH, Vol. 17, Pages 4877: The Outcome and Implications of Public Precautionary Measures in Taiwan –Declining Respiratory Disease Cases in the COVID-19 Pandemic

IJERPH, Vol. 17, Pages 4877: The Outcome and Implications of Public Precautionary Measures in Taiwan–Declining Respiratory Disease Cases in the COVID-19 Pandemic International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health doi: 10.3390/ijerph17134877 Authors: Hsieh Lin Wang Pauleen Chen With the rapid development of the COVID-19 pandemic, countries are trying to cope with increasing medical demands, and, at the same time, to reduce the increase of infected numbers by implementing a number of public health measures, namely non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs). These public health measures can include social distancing, frequent handwashing, and personal protective equipment (PPE) at the personal level; at the community and the government level, these measures can range from canceling activities, avoiding mass gatherings, closing facilities, and, at the extreme, enacting national or provincial lockdowns. Rather than completely stopping the infectious disease, the major purpose of these NPIs in facing an emerging infectious disease is to reduce the contact rate within the population, and reduce the spread of the virus until the time a vaccine or reliable medications become available. The idea is to avoid a surge of patients with severe symptoms beyond the capacity of the hospitals’ medical resources, which would lead to more mortality and morbidity. While many countries have experienced steep curves in new cases, some, including Hong ...
Source: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Tags: Brief Report Source Type: research