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1.媒體來源: The Guardian

2.記者署名: Helen Davidson and Chi Hui Lin

3.完整新聞標題:
Once a zero-Covid poster child, Taiwan learns to live with the virus
曾為清零模範生的台灣正學習與病毒共存

4.完整新聞內文:
By rejecting super-strict lockdowns, the island is pioneering a new and ‘
very successful’ approach at odds with China and Hong Kong
拒絕嚴格封城的台灣正試圖創造「嶄新且成功」的新模式。

Taiwanese people don’t mind queueing. They’ll do it for a well-reviewed
restaurant, promotional giveaways, or to take an Instagram photo at a popular
tourist site. But at 3pm outside a Gongguan pharmacy in Taipei, there’s
grumbling in the line. It’s an inconvenient time to leave work, but for now
it’s the only way to get your hands on a rapid Covid-19 test.

Twenty minutes after the sales window opens, a woman walks out to the waiting
customers: they’ve sold out. People are frustrated, having waited for up to
two hours, and some leave to try again tomorrow. Two elderly people lean over
a phone, looking at a map for other pharmacies nearby.

The pharmacist tells the Guardian that the store is only given 78 tests each
day, and always sell out in less than half an hour. She laughs when asked if
they can request more.

The disappointed customers rush to another pharmacy, where an employee with a
megaphone says there are only tests left for the next four people. When one
of those four says they aren’t there to buy a test, the woman in fifth place
jumps and shrieks with joy.
藥局每天只分配到78組，排隊2小時買到的人喜形於色，買不到的沮喪不已。

An hour earlier, the central epidemic command centre (CECC) had reported more
than 30,000 cases for the previous 24 hours – the first time Taiwan has seen
such numbers in this pandemic.
在此1小時前，指揮中心通報單日有3萬名以上的確診數，這是台灣過去疫情首見的新高。

Once a poster child for the success of zero-Covid, Taiwan is now dealing with
an “Omicron tsunami”. In response – and in stark contrast to regional
neighbours – health authorities have decided zero-Covid is no match for the
new variant and have flipped the switch to “living with the virus”.
曾為清零模範生的台灣當局，面對omicron海嘯，決定改採與鄰國不同的共存策略。

“It is the right decision, and it’s also the decision we had to make,”
 says Dr Chen Chien-jen, Taiwan’s former vice-president and professor of
epidemiology.
身為流行病學專家及台灣前任副總統的陳建仁說:「這是台灣正確也必然的決定」。

Taiwan closed itself off in early 2020, and employed a regime of stringent
contact tracing, social restrictions and personal hygiene measures which it
kept even as vaccines and antivirals were developed. It defeated an outbreak
of the Alpha strain and another of Delta in 2021. But after the highly
virulent Omicron began affecting countries in November and December, Chen
says he and other scholars advised the government to start shifting towards
living with the virus.

“The CECC decided we should adopt the policy some time later when booster
shots reached around 40-45% [several months away], but Omicron never waits
for anyone,” he tells the Guardian. Instead, it began spreading through the
community in March.

The ‘new Taiwanese model’
「新台灣模式」

Hong Kong, Taiwan and China were until now the last three major economies
still clinging to zero-Covid. In Hong Kong the policy failed and the virus
overwhelmed the city with disastrous results. In China, a steadfast
commitment to it has produced arduous and economically damaging lockdowns,
especially in Shanghai, with no end in sight. Taiwan appears to have seen
both options, and decided on a third.

It’s called the “new Taiwanese model”: an acknowledgment that they can’t
stop the spread of Omicron, but that they can try – to use an early
pandemic-era phrase – to flatten the curve.
「新台灣模式」認知到既然無法阻斷omicron，但可以試著平緩疫情曲線。

Cases are still rising and experts predict a peak is three weeks away, with
as many as 3.5 million of Taiwan’s 24.5 million people expected to
eventually be infected, and up to 16,000 dead. As daily tallies ticked past
30,000 this week, the CECC continued to ease restrictions, drop mandatory QR
code check-ins, and reduce quarantine times. It urged people to maintain
mask-wearing, work from home if they could, reduce gatherings, get vaccinated
and take a rapid test if they felt symptoms. It’s also trusting people to
self-report, and isolate or quarantine at home.
確診數攀升下，專家預測3周後會到達高峰。預估將有350萬人染疫及1.6萬人死亡。雖本週數字持續升高，但指揮中心繼續鬆綁各項管制。

So is it working? In many ways, yes. Chen notes the fatality rate of the
outbreak is still extremely low, below 0.2%. This year 66 people have died
with Covid-19, bringing Taiwan’s total to 919 out of more than 345,000
cases. More than 99.75% of Omicron cases are mild or asymptomatic, and
residents and businesses are still going about their days without lockdowns
or panic. Visitor groups are being gradually allowed to return.
陳建仁表示目前在許多層面看來，包含死亡率低、輕症無症佔99.75%、工作生活正常運作等，新台灣模式是有效的。

Hospitals are not at capacity, thanks to Taiwan pre-emptively ending a policy
of mandatory hospitalisation for all cases. The same policy in Hong Kong had
filled its hospitals before the wave began, but in Taiwan just 44% of
hospital ICU beds (more than 62% in Taipei) were full as of Friday.
不強制確診者住院治療的政策保留了台灣的醫療量能。

Prof Yen Muh-yong, the director of the infectious disease department at Cheng
Hsin hospital, says Taiwan’s diversion of cases away from hospitals has been
“very successful in relieving pressure” so far. But he fears it still won’
t be enough for this wave and urges more integration of local and district
services, to create surge capacity in the workforce and reduce hospital
crowds.
振興醫院感染科顏慕庸教授表示:儘管目前確診分流的成功為醫療紓解壓力，但面對這波疫情仍有不足。建議整合區域服務來增加量能。

As cases rise there are also criticisms, including that the government is
more reactive than proactive. Yen says transitioning to coexistence was the
right decision, “but the brain is giving directions the hands and feet are
not coping with”.
在此同時，確診數暴增也引發對政府見招拆招、不夠主動的批評。顏教授說共存正確，但「大腦下了手腳無法應對的指令」。

The government did not plan in advance for the procedures and the
preparedness to live with the Omicron tsunami.”
「政府並未做到與omicron海嘯共存的超前部署」

‘Everyone is nervous’
「人人自危」

Rules and regulations change almost daily and incrementally. The death of a
two-year-old boy last month highlighted communication failures exacerbated by
Taiwan’s entrenched bureaucracy. The child’s parents had wanted to send
their son to hospital but got conflicting instructions from multiple health
services. By the time they got him to hospital it was too late.
法令與規定朝令夕改。2歲童之死突顯出台灣根深柢固的官僚體系導致訊息連繫失效更加嚴重。

In factories, migrant workers have once again been discriminated against with
unequal rule enforcement and eased restrictions, and poor vaccination rates
among the very old and very young remain too low. Many elderly people have
refused to get vaccinated against Covid-19, and the government only recently
allowed vaccination for under-12s, despite lobbying from anxious parents.
工廠外籍移工在隔離規定上被歧視；老人幼童疫苗接種率偏低--許多老人不想接種疫苗；而心急如焚的家長不停遊說，政府才開放12歲以下施打疫苗。

Across the capital city, hospitals are reporting crowds of patients who are
not sick with Covid. A nurse and anaesthetist at a Taipei hospital tells the
Guardian her colleagues are understaffed and overworked, and don’t feel well
supported. “Everyone is nervous and they want to have PCR tests so they come
to the emergency room, but there are also the patients who need to get more
care than other people.”

The nurse says there is not enough protective equipment or backup to replace
staff who go on leave because they caught the virus, are a close contact, or
need to care for family. Instead, they’re told to keep working as long as
they test negative, and are still subject to a pandemic ban on health workers
leaving the country.
確診、密切接觸、需照顧家人而減少的人力沒補上、保護裝備也不夠。上頭卻說沒確診就繼續上班，更別提還有出國禁令。

Chen says authorities are addressing the issues in hospitals, but concedes
Taiwan didn’t prepare an adequate supply of rapid tests, and still don’t
have enough despite growing official reliance on them. On Monday, in response
to mounting criticism, the government reverted to allowing some retail stores
to sell non-rationed tests at market prices, but it didn’t have access to
brand details or supply levels.
陳建仁說政府正處理醫院的問題，但也承認儘管政府需求增加，不過台灣的快篩確實準備不夠。面對排山倒海的指責，政府近期才開放非實名快篩買賣。

There is generally widespread support for Taiwan’s efforts. Perhaps one of
the biggest hurdles for the “new Taiwanese model” was to flip the narrative
from a fear-filled zero-Covid commitment to gradual coexistence. The lower
severity of Omicron has helped, says Chen. Taiwan also came under more
pressure to reopen after cautious neighbours like South Korea and Japan
joined the US and Europe in opening.

Recent polling by the Taiwan Public Opinion Foundation found an almost even
split of 45% in favour of a coexistence policy compared to 46.3% who weren’
t. In July 2021 – at the tail end of the Alpha outbreak – 58.8% of people
were worried the government was lifting restrictions too soon. Support for
the CECC and minister Chen’s handling of Covid has also increased in that
time, from 66.4% of respondents to 77.7%.

Yen says government messaging has been “well disseminated and transparent”.
“People are not happy about the deficiencies in testing kit supply, and they
are crowding in emergency departments but this can all be improved,” he says.
顏慕庸教授表示政府資訊透明，民眾買不到快篩的不滿、急診人滿為患的亂象都會有解決之道。

Yen says “there will of course be casualties”, but waiting out the worst of
the pandemic until vaccines, treatments and a milder strain came along has
brought them a long way. Taiwan is no longer the poster child for zero-Covid,
but is hoping it can model something else instead – a calm and steady
transition to rejoin the world after more than two years locked away.


5.完整新聞連結 (或短網址)需放媒體原始連結，不可用轉載媒體連結:
https://tinyurl.com/2p8sramd


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