. 2022 Jan 27;19(3):1421.

doi: 10.3390/ijerph19031421.

Rapid Control of a SARS-CoV-2 B.1.617.2 (Delta) Variant COVID-19 Community Outbreak: The Successful Experience in Pingtung County of Taiwan

Cherng-Gueih Shy^{1

2}, Jian-He Lu³, Hui-Chen Lin⁴, Min-Nan Hung⁴, Hsiu-Chun Chang¹, Meng-Lun Lu¹, How-Ran Chao^{3

5

6

7}, Yao-Shen Chen^{8

9}, Pi-Sheng Wang¹⁰

Affiliations

¹ Public Health Bureau, Pingtung County Government, Pingtung, Pingtung County 900, Taiwan.
² Department of Radiology, Pingtung Christian Hospital, Pingtung, Pingtung County 900, Taiwan.
³ Emerging Compounds Research Center, General Research Service Center, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Neipu, Pingtung County 912, Taiwan.
⁴ Kaohsiung-Pingtung Regional Center, Taiwan Centers for Disease Control, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Executive Yuan, Taipei City 10050, Taiwan.
⁵ Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, College of Engineering, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Neipu, Pingtung County 912, Taiwan.
⁶ Institute of Food Safety Management, College of Agriculture, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Neipu, Pingtung County 912, Taiwan.
⁷ School of Dentistry, College of Dental Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung City 807, Taiwan.
⁸ Department of Administration, Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, Kaohsiung 813, Taiwan.
⁹ School of Medicine, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei 112, Taiwan.
¹⁰ Hospital and Social Welfare Organizations Administration Commission, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Nangang, Taipei City 11558, Taiwan.

PMID: 35162443
PMCID: PMC8834902
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19031421

Rapid Control of a SARS-CoV-2 B.1.617.2 (Delta) Variant COVID-19 Community Outbreak: The Successful Experience in Pingtung County of Taiwan

Cherng-Gueih Shy et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022.

. 2022 Jan 27;19(3):1421.

doi: 10.3390/ijerph19031421.

Authors

Cherng-Gueih Shy^{1

2}, Jian-He Lu³, Hui-Chen Lin⁴, Min-Nan Hung⁴, Hsiu-Chun Chang¹, Meng-Lun Lu¹, How-Ran Chao^{3

5

6

7}, Yao-Shen Chen^{8

9}, Pi-Sheng Wang¹⁰

Affiliations

¹ Public Health Bureau, Pingtung County Government, Pingtung, Pingtung County 900, Taiwan.
² Department of Radiology, Pingtung Christian Hospital, Pingtung, Pingtung County 900, Taiwan.
³ Emerging Compounds Research Center, General Research Service Center, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Neipu, Pingtung County 912, Taiwan.
⁴ Kaohsiung-Pingtung Regional Center, Taiwan Centers for Disease Control, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Executive Yuan, Taipei City 10050, Taiwan.
⁵ Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, College of Engineering, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Neipu, Pingtung County 912, Taiwan.
⁶ Institute of Food Safety Management, College of Agriculture, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Neipu, Pingtung County 912, Taiwan.
⁷ School of Dentistry, College of Dental Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung City 807, Taiwan.
⁸ Department of Administration, Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, Kaohsiung 813, Taiwan.
⁹ School of Medicine, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei 112, Taiwan.
¹⁰ Hospital and Social Welfare Organizations Administration Commission, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Nangang, Taipei City 11558, Taiwan.

PMID: 35162443
PMCID: PMC8834902
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19031421

Abstract

The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-associated Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was an outbreak in December, 2019 and rapidly spread to the world. All variants of SARS-CoV-2, including the globally and currently dominant Delta variant (Delta-SARS-CoV-2), caused severe disease and mortality. Among all variants, Delta-SARS-CoV-2 had the highest transmissibility, growth rate, and secondary attack rate than other variants except for the new variant of Omicron that still exists with many unknown effects. In Taiwan, the pandemic Delta-SARS-CoV-2 began in Pingtung from 14 June 2021 and ceased at 11 July 2021. Seventeen patients were infected by Delta-SARS-CoV-2 and 1 person died during the Pingtung outbreak. The Public Health Bureau of Pingtung County Government stopped the Delta-SARS-CoV-2 outbreak within 1 month through measures such as epidemic investigation, rapid gene sequencing, rapidly expanding isolation, expanded screening of the Delta-SARS-CoV-2 antigen for people who lived in regional villages, and indirect intervention, including rapid vaccination, short lockdown period, and travel restrictions. Indirect environmental factors, such as low levels of air pollution, tropic weather in the summer season, and rural areas might have accelerated the ability to control the Delta-SARS-CoV-2 spread. This successful experience might be recommended as a successful formula for the unvaccinated or insufficiently vaccinated regions.

Keywords: Delta-variant; PCR fast screening; Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2); quarantine; rapid control; vaccination.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

**Figure 1**
The patient-patient relationship.

**Figure 2**
The timetable of rapid control of Delta-SARS-CoV-2 community spread.

**Figure 3**
The outdoor air quality between 14 June and 11 July and the meteorological conditions of June and July in Hengchun station. Fangshan township and Fangliao township, red; Hengchun township, white; the downtown of Hengchun township, orange; Central mountains, green.

See this image and copyright information in PMC

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Rapid Control of a SARS-CoV-2 B.1.617.2 (Delta) Variant COVID-19 Community Outbreak: The Successful Experience in Pingtung County of Taiwan

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Rapid Control of a SARS-CoV-2 B.1.617.2 (Delta) Variant COVID-19 Community Outbreak: The Successful Experience in Pingtung County of Taiwan

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