{"id":9388,"date":"2020-04-03T08:41:06","date_gmt":"2020-04-03T05:41:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.medicalavenuekorea.com\/?p=9388"},"modified":"2021-05-12T10:48:30","modified_gmt":"2021-05-12T07:48:30","slug":"what-has-south-korea-done-to-control-the-coronavirus-covid-19-spread","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medicalavenuekorea.com\/en\/what-has-south-korea-done-to-control-the-coronavirus-covid-19-spread\/","title":{"rendered":"What has South Korea done to control the coronavirus COVID-19 spread? Part 1."},"content":{"rendered":"
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coronavirus COVID-19 spread<\/a> began on January 19th, after the government reported the first case. Two and a half months later, at the moment of writing (April 3rd), Korea has communicated 10,062 cases. 6,021 have recovered, which accounts for 60% of the cases. In Seoul, the capital and a city of almost 10 million, the number of cases reached 506. Finally, the mortality rate currently sits at 1.7%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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All these numbers are certainly hard to look at: Many families have lost their beloved ones. Multiple small business\u2019 owners are facing a dire economic crisis. The country is in constant stress. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being said that, Korea, as a whole, has fought with order, unity and collaboration. The measures taken by the government, and the cooperation of citizens and the private sector have set an example worthy of sincere praise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Test, test, test: South Korea\u2019s first answer to control the coronavirus COVID-19 spread<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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After confirming multiple cases in the city of Daegu on February 26th, the Korean Government took the decision to TEST everyone labeled \u201cat risk\u201d. That category included those who had COVID-19\u2019s similar symptoms (cough, fever, hard breathing, etc), those who had been in contact with confirmed cases and even those who were at the places where cases were tracked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This \u201cmassive testing\u201d order came knowing the resources and capabilities of the healthcare system<\/a>, the solid telecommunication infrastructure and the active mobile app development network inside the country. Nonetheless, it sure hasn\u2019t been an easy task to put everything in place in such a short period of time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There have been several challenges in the middle. Starting with the nationwide coordination in between all the healthcare system parts<\/a>. That includes labs, medical equipment manufacturing companies, special dispatch teams, first aid teams, ICU beds, medical staff (doctors, nurses, admins) and volunteers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under the command of the \u201cKorea Centers for Disease Control & Prevention\u201d, using established contingency protocols prepared after the SARS and MERS crisis, thousands of healthcare workers went into strategic tasks. Some teams were deployed with the clear goal of testing 10 to 20 thousand persons per day. That\u2019s how the temporary drive-thru testing sites and other facilities came about. Other teams were set to track cases, systemize surveillance and information centers like the \u201c1339 call center\u201d and the GPS-based app to monitor people under quarantine order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From February 26th until today April 2nd, Korea has tested more than 430,000 people. That is exactly on the average established as the initial goal. The \u201cmassive testing\u201d measure has been crucial to fight the coronavirus COVID-19 spread inside the country. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although it is just one of multiple programs worth mentioning. The \u201ctest, test, test\u201d policy is surely the first big answer from Korea Vs COVID-19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Final word<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We are preparing two more posts about the collaboration between companies, the government and citizens. We\u2019ll try to tackle subjects such as the privacy rights Vs the community safety, the mobile technology and connectivity used as a tool, as well as talking about the hard balance between the economical impact and common well-being.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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