Taiwan’s Apps That Can Beat COVID-19

In the war against coronavirus, Taiwan has been winning their battles.

Taiwan has a staggeringly low number of COVID-19 cases: only 376 confirmed cases and five deaths total. On the other hand, the United States has done a significantly worse job in controlling the virus, now leading the world in confirmed cases at 427,118. Taiwan has only one-fifth the rate of known cases in the United States and less than one-tenth the rate of widely praised Singapore. 

While a more major outbreak is still possible, it seems that Taiwan is successfully controlling COVID-19 thanks to their initial success. What have they done differently?

App-Based Approach

China and the United States had feeble responses to the pandemic initially, which led to a faster spread as well as a faulty stigma towards the threat it poses. Taiwan’s government tackled the virus early on, before it took hold in the country, which was a significant boon. But it was technology that enabled Taiwan to lead the world in minimizing spread. 

According to Foreign Affairs, “Bottom-up information sharing, public-private partnerships, ‘hacktivism,’ and participatory collective action have been central to the country’s success.” 

Pairing democracy with technology in a highly advanced, connected, and organized country has no doubt been the reason for Taiwan’s superior outcome in battling the virus. 

For example, two apps built from scratch have been crucial to Taiwan’s success. The app called Face Mask Map has given the country an edge in obtaining masks. Through this app, the government has rationed two face masks a week per person, and designated locations to acquire masks. Because of this, there is no panic to obtain masks, or a potential scenario where they run out of masks like they did when battling SARS in 2003. 

According to Foreign Affairs, a second platform “allowed users to download their smartphone location history to determine if they may have been exposed. It was a common-sense design that encouraged proactive behavior. Users who worried about exposure limited their subsequent interactions to protect others”.

This hackathon style community in unity with the government has been the catalyst for success. 

Perhaps it is time for the United States to take advantage of the tools we already have as citizens. This begins in Santa Cruz. CruzHacks has been fundamental in technological social change, and could be extremely successful combating the virus. 

While we search for a cure across the world, igniting a hackathon community spirit in the United States could just be the answer.