Prestige GistA Korean Ambassador Got interviewed on COVID 19
Q. South Korea was one of the first countries to report a significant outbreak of COVID-19 but a relatively small number of people have died in the country compared to elsewhere. What lessons can others learn from South Korea?
A. Well, Korea has successfully flattened the curve but we know that still it hasn't come to an end yet, so we have to keep vigilant, but, yes, the Korean case seems quite successful. Even though it is not the only perfect model for other countries to follow, we can share the lessons we learned. The main lesson we learned is that testing is very important, so at the beginning of the outbreak we encouraged medical research institutes to develop test kits and we gave very quick approval and we also encouraged the Korean companies to produce test kits at large scale. So we built up a stockpile and it was the foundation of mass testing. Our strategy was test, trace, and treat and it's worked so far.
Q. Interesting, you tested about half a million people; that's around 200,000 more than the UK despite having a smaller population. Do you think the UK should be testing more people?
A. So far we have conducted more than half million tests, so in terms of population per capita Korea is the highest testing country in the world1. You know, early detection is very critical for [effective] treatment. Early detection through tracing. We track down all suspected cases, all contacts of the confirmed cases, and utilize advanced tech, ICT tech like credit card transaction record history, CCTV footage, and mobile phone GPS data. So we trace all suspected cases and all contacts and we put those people into the right medical facilities for early medical intervention. That's how we have kept the fatality rate very low, around less than 2%.
Q. Interesting to hear how important contact tracing has been, but you there just saying that you used CCTV, GPS data from phones, credit card transactions. Is there a concern about privacy?
A. Of course, there have been concerns expressed. However, 5 years ago when we were hit by MERS, we introduced new laws to make tracing easier in case of a new outbreak of infectious disease, and the law stipulates to what extent we can collect information and how we can use it, what the limits are, and how we deal with the information to protect privacy. We used the information to track them but we disclosed only relevant and anonymous information to the public.And we tried to balance public healthcare concerns and privacy. You know, people in Korea were willing to compromise their privacy to some extent for the sake of the greater good of public health, and I think that is civic awareness.
Q. One of the things I want to ask you about is face-masks, because many people in South Korea wear face-masks to protect themselves and others from Coronavirus, but isn't officially recommended in the UK. Do you think it should be?
A. Well, every country has different challenges and different background, so I can't say UK government should or should not, but the Korea government made it an official recommendation to wear masks, because based on our experience and our research, we know that masks help reduce the risk of being affected and also transmitting it. We take into account that[b] there are many confirmed cases with no symptoms, so you can spread the virus without knowing it[/b]. We know that wearing masks doesn't completely prevent being infected or transmitting the virus, but it helps.
Q. I want to ask about a concerning story. Around 91 patients who were classed as being cured of Coronavirus in South Korea have tested positive again according to the Centers for Disease Control & prevention. Does that mean we might not get immunity to COVID-19 or does that mean that the tests are not reliable?
A. We are not quite sure. The test itself is quite reliable, but we do not know enough about this virus. After being cured and diagnosed that you're fully recovered, there is still a possibility that the virus is alive in your body and is reactivated. So we are in the process of learning about the virus in a more complete way.
1South Korea's testing rate per capita is no longer the highest in the world. Having brought their outbreak under control through massive testing, they no longer have to test as much as they used to. If you test enough, the newly confirmed cases will go up sharply and then start to drop like South Korea's after you have isolated most of the infected people.
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