, Columnist
Sexy Tea, the Lion King and Taiwan's Lost Innocence
Covid complacency and rebellious retirees have seen the bubble burst on one of the pandemic’s great success stories.
Stocking up at a Taipei supermarket during Covid outbreak.
Photographer: I-Hwa Cheng/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
After 15 months leading the world as a case study in epidemic management, Taiwan’s bubble has burst.
In just one week, the case count for Covid-19 infections spiked by more than 40%, and it’s likely that figure will keep climbing in coming days. Compared to India, which reported 311,170 new cases on Sunday alone, Taiwan’s 784 in a week is minuscule. Yet the sudden surge, bringing total cases to 2,017 by Monday, forced authorities to implement unprecedented restrictions and has people wondering what went wrong.