No new COVID-19 case in Taiwan as strategy bears fruit, majority of 393 cases are imported

No new coronavirus case was reported in Taiwan over the past 24 hours, the first such instance in over a month, authorities said on Tuesday. 

The island country, which China claims as a breakaway province, has nearly 400 COVID-19 cases so far, with six deaths and 124 recoveries.

Health Minister Chen Shih-chung, who also heads the Taiwan’s Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC), said this was the first time in 36 days that no new case was reported on Taiwanese territory.

According to Anadolu News agency, daily Taiwan news reported 338 of 393 coronavirus patients were people who had returned from abroad.

Taiwan, which has a population of over 23 million, recorded the lowest number of cases per million people anywhere in the world over the past 50 days, according to the Oxford University-based research group Our World in Data.

The low case count has been ensured without a complete lockdown. Schools and businesses continue normal operations, but people have been asked to wear protective masks and strictly follow COVID-19 precautions.