South Korea records ZERO new cases of coronavirus for the first time in months after aggressive test and trace approach
SOUTH Korea has recorded ZERO new domestic cases of coronavirus for the first time in months after an aggressive test and trace approach.
The Asian nation has been one of the relative success stories of the global pandemic.
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It has one of the lowest death rates in the world and has managed to stifle transmission despite being one of the first countries to report a case outside China.
And South Korea announced today it has seen no new local infections for the first time since February 15.
Seoul recorded just four fresh cases – all new arrivals from overseas – in its first daily increase below five in around two months.
The tiny rise means the country’s figures now stand at 10,765 cases including 247 deaths – less than 1% of Britain’s staggering 26,097 body count – with 9,059 people now recovered.
The numbers of new cases in the country have been steadily falling for weeks after reaching highs of hundreds a day between late February and early March.
SUCCESS STORY
South Korea has subsequently relaxed some of its social distancing guidelines and is expected to ease up even more in coming days.
The nation's astonishing success is a beacon of hope throughout the world.
And it's even more impressive given it never resorted to Chinese or European-style lockdowns.
Instead, the country pursued a policy of aggressive testing and contact tracing.
It was able to do this from very early on in the crisis because it ramped up its pandemic defence plans after being badly shaken by earlier outbreaks of similar viruses SARS and MERS in recent years.
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These preparations saw testing capacity drastically expanded, personal protective equipment (PPE) stockpiled, hospitals kitted out with infection control units, and plans for nationwide information campaigns put in place.
When the first Covid-19 deaths occurred in China in January, South Korea swung into action, guided by the principles of “test, trace and contain”.
A coronavirus taskforce immediately ordered the swift development of a practical diagnostic test that could identify people who had been infected.
Within just a week, a reliable testing kit had been approved and put into production.
There followed a huge programme of testing, often at the rate of 20,000 a day, carried out through a vast network 600 centres and 43 drive-through facilities.
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By March 19, while Britain was still struggling, South Korea had tested over 300,000 people.
From the start, screening was also applied to all arrivals at Korean airports, including national citizens, something the UK Government has never attempted until now.
This testing regime was backed up by a huge effort both to trace all the contacts of those who test positive for Covid-19 and to alert the public to the presence of disease carriers.
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