LyrArc Article Gist
When the coronavirus spread in China it was expected that Taiwan would be affected badly. Yet Taiwan has managed the situation in a number of ways that has limited cases to 50. Health experts attribute this to quick preparation and early intervention.

After the 2002 and 2003 SARS epidemic Taiwan setup the National Health Command Center (NHCC) to combine resources for managing a health crisis. This was to prepare for the next crisis. Taiwan acted early imposing a ban on travel to China, Macau and Hong Kong, and a ban on the exporting of surgical masks to keep a stockpile in Taiwan. 

Taiwanese government integrated data from national health insurance with immigration and customs data. A program was developed  that allowed people to report travel histories and symptoms by scanning a QR code when they arrive in Taiwan. Travelers receive a text message with their health status that allows customs officers to focus on the ones requiring attention. The public's willingness to follow government regulation is now much higher after the difficulties caused by the SARS crisis. This makes them willing to follow more readily action taken by the government, as SARS memory is still fresh in their minds.

Investments in public health systems and in biomedical research is much further advanced than in other countries. A research team at Academia Sinica has developed antibodies that can identify the protein that causes coronavirus, The aim is to shorten the test time for diagnosis to 20 minutes. The lead researcher Yang says the next step is to validate it before turning out a rapid test kit.