On Dec. 31, 2019, China reported multiple cases of an unusual pneumonia to the World Health Organization. Taiwanese health officials emailed the WHO that same day to request more information about the outbreak and to ask if the illness could be passed from person-to-person. Taiwan began instituting precautionary measures such as health screenings for travelers arriving from Wuhan.
The WHO’s initial response on Jan. 12 was that there was “no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission,” but then on Jan. 20, doctors confirmed human-to-human transmission.
Taiwan was thus first to acknowledge the outbreak and take preventative action.