Systemic resilience and COVID-19: lessons from Taiwan

Abstract

In May 2021, Taiwan experienced its first COVID-19 surge. Up until then, this geopolitically vulnerable nation had contained the pandemic well. The situation seemed dire at the peak of the surge, however, within two months, the crisis had been resolved. Aside from technical measures such as border control and mandated social distancing, other underlying systemic factors-including an accreditation-strengthened and digitalized healthcare system, government resourcefulness, and continuously adaptive strategies-were crucial to Taiwan's success, and have demonstrated the importance of systemic resilience in terms of navigating the pandemic.