Health Minister Chen Shih-chung says social distancing will be the new normal until a reliable vaccine is developed. He was speaking at the legislature on Monday morning.
Chen said that though Taiwan may stop seeing new domestic cases of COVID-19 by June, that will not be the case with the rest of the world. Even if Taiwan manages to contain COVID-19 within its borders, the country may see a resurgence of the disease in the fall and winter.
Chen said developing and testing an effective vaccine will take a while. He cited a newly released report from the World Health Organization (WHO), which said there was no evidence that having COVID-19 antibodies guarantees immunity. Currently, there is not enough research on COVID-19 antibodies to begin issuing 'immunity passports', a method of reopening society some countries are considering.
When asked how long social distancing may last, Chen said it depends on how quickly a new vaccine can be developed.