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Faced with the unprecedented challenge of COVID-19, countries all over the world have been rushing to put forward anti-epidemic measures. For instance, Taiwan began increasing domestic mask production capacity in January and limited thermometer exports in March. In addition, demand for ventilators has been rapidly increasing, and governments everywhere have been making concerted efforts to build their inventory and production of these critical breathing aids. Such is the need that large car manufacturers in Europe and the U.S., such as General Motors, Ford, Tesla, Volkswagen, and even the British electrical goods company Dyson as well as others, have formed cross-industry teams with domestic governments to produce ventilators instead of their usual products.

Ventilators are divided into two types, invasive and non-invasive. The demands are different depending on whether patients can breathe unassisted. Taiwan's invasive ventilators for critically-ill patients are imported. According to the Central Epidemic Command Center (Taiwan), the number of ventilators domestically is 61 ventilators per 100,000 people, which compares favorably to 24 in Germany, 12 in the United Kingdom and 5 in Italy. As for non-invasive ventilators, such as Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP), these provide extra assistance in healing coronavirus patients during this pandemic and may ultimately play a role in governments being able to relax emergency regulations.

CPAP ventilators are normally used to treat sleep apnea syndrome. In 2019, the export value of CPAP and related products in Taiwan reached approximately US$70 million (HS code: 90192090, 90200090). APEX Co., Ltd., a Taiwan Excellence award winning brand, is a major Taiwanese company in manufacturing CPAP-related products. APEX's 'WiZARD 3 Series CPAP Mask' won the 2019 Taiwan Excellence Award. The product integrates a variety of materials and innovative designs to be  skin-friendly and ensure a breathable forehead support structure. The design makes disassembling and cleaning unnecessary when in use, while also greatly improving the comfort of the patient, differentiating it from competing products. More importantly, the mask frame is designed to fit the shape of the face. The curved surface not only allows 'WiZARD' 3-Series CPAP Mask to depart from the rigid style typical of medical products, meaning that it can be customized for each individual and made airtight.

While the world is living under the influence of the Covid-19 Pandemic, the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) continues to support the Taiwanese medical industry. The 'International Medical, Health and Care Expo (Medical Taiwan)' will take place from October 15-17, at Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center, Hall 2. In addition, Taiwan Excellence is running an online expo to provide a variety of ways to present Taiwan's high-quality medical products. Taiwan Excellence will also lead award-winning brands at IDEM in Singapore, AACC in the U.S., AGEXPO in Malaysia and MEDICA in Germany. The promotion of our high-quality and innovative medical products around the world has never been of more importance to Taiwan Excellence or our global partners.