What the rest of the world can learn from South Korea's COVID-19
response
Researcher investigates how South Korean policy enabled the country to
flatten the curve without economic disaster
Date:
August 10, 2020
Source:
University of Colorado Denver
Summary:
As the world continues to closely monitor the newest coronavirus
outbreak, the government of South Korea has been able to keep the
disease under control without paralyzing the national health and
economic systems.
FULL STORY ==========================================================================
As the world continues to closely monitor the newest coronavirus outbreak,
the government of South Korea has been able to keep the disease under
control without paralyzing the national health and economic systems. In
a new research article published in The American Review of Public Administration, University of Colorado Denver researcher Jongeun You
reviewed South Korea's public health policy to learn how the country
managed coronavirus from January through April 2020.
========================================================================== Testing Timeline In January, the Korea Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, in partnership with the Korean Society for Laboratory
Medicine and the Korean Association of External Quality Assessment
Service, developed and evaluated the real-time reverse transcription
polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) diagnostic method for coronavirus.
By February, the diagnostic kit was authorized, and as of March 9,
15,971 kits were produced, capable of testing 522,700 people.
As of April 15, South Korea has tested 534,552 people for coronavirus,
which is 10.4 people per one thousand population. South Korea also
operated 600 screening centers (including 71 drive-through centers), and
more than 90 medical institutions assessed specimens with an rRT-PCR test.
According to You's research, the critical factors in South Korea's public health administration and management that led to success include national infectious disease plans, collaboration with the private sector, stringent contact tracing, an adaptive health care system, and government-driven communication. The South Korean government proactively found patients
who contracted coronavirus, disclosed epidemiologic findings of confirmed patients to the public, and provided differentiated treatments based on
the severity of symptoms. Unlike other major nations, South Korea has
a mostly homogenous cultural and institutional structure, which enabled
the policies put in place by the government to become effective.
==========================================================================
This chart demonstrates how South Korea was able to limit the number of coronavirus deaths compared to other major countries around the world.
This chart demonstrates how South Korea was able to limit the number of coronavirus deaths compared to other major countries around the world.
The Three Major Keys to South Korea's Success South Korea conducted
rigorous and extensive epidemiologic field investigations for coronavirus cases. This process included interviews with patients and triangulation of multiple sources of information (e.g., medical records, credit card and
GPS data). The Institute for Future Government's survey in 2020 found
that 84% of South Koreans accept the loss of privacy as a necessary
tradeoff for public health security.
South Korea is a democratic unitary political system. The local
governments have limited autonomy and its public health governance
is centralized, enabling South Korean agencies to act quickly to
implement policy decisions at the local level. After the MERS outbreak
in 2015, the South Korean government expanded legal and administrative boundaries regarding pandemic responses, enabling public administration to acknowledge the different procedures. For example, the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act was amended significantly to prevent infectious disease and secure the public's right to know through surveillance and
tracing techniques.
========================================================================== Lastly, the public health budget and flexible fiscal management systems
allowed the South Korean government to provide adequate resources. The
South Korean government and national health insurance program shouldered
the full cost of coronavirus testing, quarantine, and treatment for
Korean citizens and noncitizens. Furthermore, on March 17, 2020, the South Korean Legislature passed the supplementary budget of 11.7 trillion KRW
($10.1 billion) in 12 days. The Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare's
(KMHW) supplementary budget passed in March 2020 is 3.7 trillion KRW
($3.2 billion), which enabled the KMHW to increase COVID-19 prevention
and treatment facilities and to support medical institutions and workers.
United States Viability "There are many variables to consider when
emulating policies from other countries," said Jongeun You. "South Korea's extensive surveillance and contact tracing using ICT (information and communications technology) may not be applicable at the federal level in
the U.S. due to different cultural norms." According to You, what the
United States could have adopted from South Korea was its ability to
quickly ramp up its testing capacity. As mentioned above, South Korea
had testing capabilities by end of January after a fast review from
the Korean FDA. In the United States, on February 12, 2020, when public
and private labs had not yet received FDA approval for their own tests,
the CDC revealed that a CDC-designed test kit contained a faulty reagent.
Public Administrator Implications You suggests the public administrators
need to meticulously document everything -- and in a timely manner. Using
this information, administrators must go one step further and update
policy regarding key lessons learned.
"Though many solutions are emerging, I believe one essential solution for public administrators is to collect documentation about their successes
and struggles, and what they hear from citizens and residents about
policy implementation and communication."
========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by
University_of_Colorado_Denver. Original written by Meghan Azralon. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Jongeun You. Lessons From South Korea's Covid-19 Policy
Response. The
American Review of Public Administration, 2020; 027507402094370
DOI: 10.1177/0275074020943708 ==========================================================================
Link to news story:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/08/200810141006.htm
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