President Tsai Ing-wen says that Taiwan stands ready to share medical supplies and expertise with other countries as they work to fight COVID-19.
On Wednesday, Tsai said that the COVID-19 pandemic is global in scale and that simply containing the outbreak in Taiwan is not enough to stop its overall spread. She said that every member of the international community must come together to overcome the pandemic, and that Taiwan is ready to do its part.
Tsai said that Taiwan is ready to provide surgical masks, medicine, and technological expertise to those who request them.
Tsai said Taiwan will donate 10 million masks to countries that need them for the protection of their medical workers. She said more may follow if Taiwan has enough in supply to meet its own needs.
She also said that Taiwan plans to donate quinine, a drug that some clinical research suggests can help treat mild cases of COVID-19. She said the government has asked Taiwanese manufacturers to increase production of quinine so that there is enough to give to countries in need.
Finally, she said that Taiwan is ready to share access to its electronic quarantine system. This system uses big data to let authorities track who COVID-19 patients have been in contact with.
Tsai said she hopes to show the world that Taiwan is an invaluable partner and that “Taiwan is helping”.