Protecting Healthcare Workers During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Outbreak: Lessons From Taiwan's Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Response

Jonathan Schwartz; Chwan-Chuen King; Muh-Yong Yen

doi:10.1093/cid/ciaa255

Protecting Healthcare Workers During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Outbreak: Lessons From Taiwan's Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Response

Clin Infect Dis. 2020 Jul 28;71(15):858-860. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciaa255.

Authors

Jonathan Schwartz¹, Chwan-Chuen King², Muh-Yong Yen^{3

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Political Science, State University of New York at New Paltz, New Paltz, New York, USA.
² Institute of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
³ Division of Infectious Diseases, Taipei City Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
⁴ National Yang-Ming University, School of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.

Abstract

During major epidemic outbreaks, demand for healthcare workers (HCWs) grows even as the extreme pressures they face cause declining availability. We draw on Taiwan's severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) experience to argue that a modified form of traffic control bundling (TCB) protects HCW safety and by extension strengthens overall coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic control.

Keywords: COVID-19; healthcare workers; protection; traffic control bundling.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Betacoronavirus / pathogenicity
COVID-19
Coronavirus Infections / epidemiology*
Coronavirus Infections / virology
Disease Outbreaks
Health Personnel
Humans
Pandemics
Personal Protective Equipment / virology
Pneumonia, Viral / epidemiology*
Pneumonia, Viral / virology
SARS-CoV-2
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome / epidemiology*
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome / virology*
Taiwan / epidemiology