After occupying second place for a long time among the countries most affected by the Covid-19 coronavirus, South Korea has seen its situation improve greatly. Indeed, the number of new cases and deaths has increased very little for several days. How did this country manage to contain the problem?
Since the discovery of a major focus of infection in Daegu, South Korea has long remained the second country most affected by the Covid-19 epidemic. In recent days, it has been overtaken by Italy and Iran . As the Reuters news agency explains on March 13, 2020, South Korea declared more people cured than new cases in one day, for the very first time.
South Korea now has 7,979 cases for 71 deaths and 510 cases of remission . At the same time, Italy and Iran have respectively 15,113 and 10,075 confirmed cases for 1,016 and 429 deaths. In our March 6 update, we mentioned that South Korea had "declared war" on the coronavirus. It turns out that this strategy worked very well.
You should know that if China has chosen to confine its people, South Korea has adopted a very different strategy . A week ago, the government declared maximum alert and called for national mobilization. These measures include an intensification of testing , a supply of protective masks as well as a disinfection campaign for areas affected by the coronavirus. In the front line was the city of Daegu, stronghold of the Sincheonji Church of Jesus, the famous sect where the focus of infection was declared.
The numbers today are flattering for South Korea. Indeed, no less than 500 clinics have carried out around 220,000 tests . In addition, the government has mobilized around forty mobile clinics in order to limit the contact of health personnel with the sick. While significant health resources have been deployed, the population has been made aware and many investigations have been carried out. Indeed, the authorities systematically sought the relatives of the infected people and reconstructed their movements using video surveillance images.
No less than 10,000 screenings per day for the past week, here is the incredible South Korean record. It must be said that the country has learned the lesson of its mistakes made during the MERS coronavirus epidemic in 2015. This time, the authorities not only accelerated the procedures for placing the tests on the market but above all authorized a new test able to perform a complete diagnosis in less than 6 hours!
It is also possible to be surprised at the low mortality linked to the Covid-19 epidemic in South Korea. However, the effectiveness of the screening campaign is accompanied by early care sick people. Thus, many deaths have been avoided. For responding quickly and effectively, South Korea is arguably a role model for countries experiencing a significant increase in cases.
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