Korea is handling COVID-19 outbreak just fine

I post updates daily about the COVID-19 situation around the world, especially in Thailand and Korea. Though Korea has had many new cases every day, many global health experts say they admire the Korean government's response to the outbreak.




Since Feb. 23, Seoul has kept the alert for the coronavirus at the highest level and promoted the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters to under the direct control of the prime minister. The government has also postponed the start of the school year across the country for kindergartens and elementary, middle and high schools.





Korea has carried out more than 10,000 tests for COVID-19 daily at 79 designated health centers, authorized private hospitals and public health labs. I am so impressed with the country's testing capabilities as other countries have tested just 100-2,000 people per day. Drive-through screening clinics at the roadside have even been set up as more people want to be tested since the risk of infection increases with waiting time. The advantage of these clinics is lower infection risk because testing is done inside the vehicles.




At this point, I think I know why Korea has seen a surge in the number of infected patients day by day. The government is trying to test as many people as it can to prevent the further spread of COVID-19. The whereabouts of infected people are released and text messages are sent to citizens and those at risk or in the path of the infected. Thus the government can monitor the conditions or people can go get checked. I like how Korea promptly provides detailed updates in English on the COVID-19 situation for foreigners in Korea and abroad like me. I respect this transparency as it helps the people trust the government.





Another thing that impresses me is always seeing photos of authorized officers and staff regularly cleaning and sanitizing places such as subway stations, bus stops, parking lots and public parks. If I were in Korea, I would feel safe thanks to these actions.



I would like to cheer those who've work so hard in this situation. I hope I'll soon wake up to good news that we have a vaccine or a cure for the novel coronavirus.