Learning From Each Other in the Management of Natural Disaster and COVID-19 Pandemic: A Case Study in Taiwan

Bibliographic Details
Title: Learning From Each Other in the Management of Natural Disaster and COVID-19 Pandemic: A Case Study in Taiwan
Authors: Hsiao-Wen Wang, Guan-Wei Chen, Wei-Lin Lee, Shuei-Huei You, Chia-Wen Li, Jiun-Huei Jang, Chjeng-Lun Shieh
Source: Frontiers in Public Health, Vol 9 (2021)
Publisher Information: Frontiers Media S.A., 2021.
Publication Year: 2021
Collection: LCC:Public aspects of medicine
Subject Terms: COVID-19, communicable disease, natural disaster, disaster management, emergency operation, Public aspects of medicine, RA1-1270
More Details: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Taiwan has been one of the best performers in the world with extremely low infections and deaths. This success can be attributed to the long experiences dealing with natural disasters and communicable diseases. However, with different disastrous characteristics, the disaster management systems for communicable diseases and natural disasters are very different in terms of laws, plans, frameworks, and emergency operations. Taking the response to COVID-19 pandemic as a study subject, we found that disaster management for communicable diseases can be improved through a comparison with natural disasters, and vice versa. First, having wider and longer impacts than natural disasters, the plans and framework for communicable diseases in Taiwan focus more on national and regional scales. Local governments would need more capacity support including budgets and training to conduct investigations and quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic. Second, for quick response, the emergency operation for communicable diseases was designed to be more flexible than that for natural disasters by giving the commander more authority to adjust to the circumstances. The commanding system requires a more objective consultation group to prevent arbitrary decisions against the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, risk governance is important for communicable diseases as well as for natural disasters. Additional efforts should be made to enhance vulnerability assessment, disaster reduction, and risk communication for shaping responses and policies in an efficient and coordinating way.
Document Type: article
File Description: electronic resource
Language: English
ISSN: 2296-2565
Relation: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2021.777255/full; https://doaj.org/toc/2296-2565
DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2021.777255
Access URL: https://doaj.org/article/e302e59baaac412ba3037cfc6d06850f
Accession Number: edsdoj.302e59baaac412ba3037cfc6d06850f
Database: Directory of Open Access Journals
More Details
ISSN:22962565
DOI:10.3389/fpubh.2021.777255
Published in:Frontiers in Public Health
Language:English