Big Data Analytics and Successes in Taiwan
As coronavirus spread in China, it was assumed that Taiwan would be heavily hit in part because of its proximity to China, the regular flights that went from the island to China each day, and how many Taiwanese citizens work in China. However, Taiwan used technology and a robust pandemic plan created after the 2003 SARS outbreak to minimize the virus’ impact on its land.
Part of their strategy integrated the national health insurance database with data from its immigration and customs database. By centralizing the data in this way, when faced with coronavirus, they were able to get real-time alerts regarding who might be infected based on symptoms and travel history. In addition to this, they had QR code scanning and online reporting of travel and health symptoms that helped them classify travelers’ infection risks and a toll-free hotline for citizens to report suspicious symptoms. Officials took immediate action from the minute WHO broadcast information about a pneumonia of unknown cause in China on Dec. 31, 2019. This was the first reported case of coronavirus, and Taiwan's quick response and use of technology are the likely reasons they have a lower rate of infection than others despite their proximity to China.
