Do not relax border controls
Pui-Yan Kwok’s (郭沛恩) article put forward the proposal that the time has come for Taiwan to begin relaxing border control policies (“Time to relax border control policy,” June 10, page 8).
This is a dangerous and improper interpretation of Taiwan’s success in controlling and ultimately eliminating the domestic spread of COVID-19.
Kwok correctly praises the Central Epidemic Control Center (CECC) for the most laudable manner in which CECC policies have kept the population of Taiwan safe — literally the most successful of all nations, something that all Taiwanese citizens should rightly be extremely proud of.
No cases have been detected domestically for a period of time exceeding four incubation cycles. This practically guarantees that Taiwan is COVID-19 free and serves as ample reason to loosen domestic restrictions and policies, such as relaxing requirements for business establishments to enforce social distancing.
However, it is not cause to relax border policies.
Kwok seems to base his thesis on two points. First, that masks will help protect the populace from an infected individual and, second, that the general purpose for policies such as border controls and social distancing was to “flatten the curve,” and reduce the pandemic to a sustainable level.
It is true that wearing a mask protects others from a potentially infected individual, but the question is how? How do we know who should be wearing a mask? Presumably, it would be all incoming travelers who formerly would have been required to quarantine. Once they leave the airport, how could they be identified? How do we enforce the wearing of the mask?
It is true that the general purpose for the policies was to reduce the pandemic to a sustainable level. Taiwan has exceeded the expectations and flattened the curve to zero. Given that this is the case, why revert to a lesser standard?
When you are sitting safely in your living room, you might consider kicking off your shoes and relaxing. You do not consider unlocking the front door.
Taiwan should continue to enforce strict border controls until the pandemic — worldwide — has been brought under control or until a vaccine has been developed.
Dudley McConnell
Taichung
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