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. 2020 Jul 24;8(3):229.
doi: 10.3390/healthcare8030229.

Lessons from South Korea Regarding the Early Stage of the COVID-19 Outbreak

Min Cheol Chang  1 , Jong Hyun Baek  2 , Donghwi Park  3
Affiliations

Lessons from South Korea Regarding the Early Stage of the COVID-19 Outbreak

Min Cheol Chang et al. Healthcare (Basel). .

Abstract

South Korea has experienced difficulty in controlling the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) during the early stages of the outbreak. South Korea remains passionately determined to protect Koreans against COVID-19 and through trial and error hopes to improve the strategies used to limit the outbreak. Here, we review how COVID-19 spread and what prevention strategies were implemented during the early stages of the outbreak in South Korea. We investigated online newspapers published in South Korea from 21 January 2020 to 20 March 2020, and reviewed academic medical articles related to COVID-19. Additionally, we acquired data on COVID-19 cases through the official website for COVID-19 in South Korea. To date, numerous measures have been applied by the government and the medical community during the early stages of the COVID-19 outbreak including the reporting of methods for diagnostic testing, patient classification, the introduction of drive-through screening centers, COVID-19 preventive measures, implementation of government policies for the shortage of face masks, and entry restrictions. Here, we present data from the early stages of the COVID-19 outbreak and measures to prevent its spread in South Korea. We believe that sharing the experience of South Korea during the COVID-19 outbreak can help other countries to implement strategies to prevent its rapid transmission.

Keywords: COVID-19; China; South Korea; coronavirus; drive-through.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(A) Daily number of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) confirmed cases in South Korea, (B) daily cumulative number of COVID-19 confirmed cases in South Korea, (C) number of COVID-19 confirmed cases according to age range. Source: www.coronaboard.kr.
Figure 2
Figure 2
(A) Daily number of deaths due to COVID-19 in South Korea, (B) daily cumulative number of deaths due to COVID-19 in South Korea, (C) number of deaths due to COVID-19 according to age. Source: www.coronaboard.kr.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Cumulative numbers of positive and negative test results for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In total, 301,139 people underwent testing for SARS-CoV-2, and 8,652 (2.9%) tested positive. (red: cases confirmed as SARS-CoV-2 positive; blue: cases confirmed as SARS-CoV-2 negative) Source: www.coronaboard.kr.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Schematic illustration of a drive-through screening center for COVID-19 testing.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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