Department of Health, Taipei City Government

The Emergency Operations Center of Taipei City was raised to level 1 on February 27, and Mayor Ko Wen-Je immediately convened a response team meeting to provide future response guidelines by following and refining the original advance deployment program. Ko also convened a meeting on March 2 to obtain feedback from frontline outbreak prevention personnel, where he instructed them to make immediate responses and attend to problems straight away in order to boost the outbreak prevention potential of hospitals and implement infection control measures. We must all work together to protect the integrity of the medical care system and bolster the frontline defense.

Ko invited representatives from 8 medical centers (National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Tri-Service General Hospital, MacKay Memorial Hospital, Cathay General Hospital, Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital, Chang Gung Medical Foundation, and Taipei Municipal Wanfang Hospital) and 12 hospitals (Taipei City Hospital, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Cheng Hsin General Hospital, and Taiwan Adventist Hospital), as well as the directors of 7 medical associations including Taipei Medical Association, Taipei Chinese Medical Association, Taipei Dental Association, Taipei Pharmacists Association, Taipei Nurses Association, Taiwan Association Of Medical Technologists, and Taiwan Association of Medical Radiation Technologists to discuss response measures for the COVID-19 outbreak. He also expressed his gratitude to all the medical professionals for holding fast their posts in a bid to prevent the outbreak from spreading, as well as selflessly assisting the city government in implementing various outbreak prevention efforts.

The mayor commented that Taipei City possesses superior medical resources than other municipalities, thus hospitals and clinics are aware of and have implemented infectious disease prevention protocols. Medical institutions and professionals are able to obtain firsthand information pertaining to the outbreak before the government, therefore he is confident about Taipei City’s medical care system. He stated that barring sudden massive outbreaks like what is currently happening in Korea causing a spike in the number of patients, Taipei’s medical care system is capable of handling sporadic cases or small-scale community-acquired infections.

To boost the outbreak prevention intensity, Ko reiterated that the increase in the number of isolation beds in response to the outbreak will not be limited and he also promised the association and hospital representatives that the city government will provide one-stop services in regard to outbreak prevention resources requirements or suggestions. The city government will lend its full support to the frontline medical professionals and hospitals, and problems that cannot be resolved by the city government will be forwarded to the central government to seek assistance. The association and hospital representatives all expressed their willingness to cooperate with the Taipei City Government in upholding the integrity of the medical care system. Furthermore, they also acknowledged the Taipei City Government volunteers for helping pharmacies in Taipei City to sell surgical masks through the name-based rationing system.

In an effort to lighten the burden of medical professionals during the outbreak, Ko also urged the citizens to utilize medical care resources discreetly; if the need for medical care arises, he or she should prioritize a visit to community clinics or hospitals and only go to major hospitals for serious illnesses. During the outbreak, citizens are advised to stay away from hospitals except when there is a need to seek medical attention. Additionally, they should minimize the frequency and duration of hospital visits and patient accompaniments. Citizens going to the hospital to seek medical attention or visit patients must wear surgical masks and adhere to the medical institution’s outbreak control measures, and they should answer their TOCC (travel, occupation, contact, and cluster) information honestly so as to ensure their health and that of the medical professionals.


Mayor Ko Wen-Je convened a meeting on March 2 to obtain feedback from frontline outbreak prevention personnel.