[Coronavirus] Drive-through virus screening gains popularity

By Lim Chang-won Posted : February 28, 2020, 16:33 Updated : February 28, 2020, 16:33

[Courtesy of Gimcheon City]

SEOUL -- Coronavirus tests using provisional drive-through clinics are gaining popularity, prompting health authorities to set up a standard operating model so that each local government can use it in its fight to contain the raging epidemic that has rattled a country well known for an advanced medical system.

Usually, it takes more than 30 minutes for screening centers at designated hospitals and public health centers equipped with test kits and devices to examine suspected patients, measure their body temperature and extract nose and mouth samples.

The drive-through screening clinic does not require equipment such as sound pressure tents and reduce disinfection and ventilation time to check visitors because virus tests are possible through car windows, allowing large-scale sampling safely and efficiently.

Drive-through virus screening appeared first near the parking lot of Yeungnam University Medical Center in the southeastern city of Daegu, the epicenter of South Korea's coronavirus epidemic, leading health officials in other cities to benchmark it.

The national anti-epidemic center recommended the wider use of drive-through screening, acknowledging its efficiency as health officials, especially in Daegu and other regions hit hard by the epidemic, were swamped with tons of samples.

An effective distance of infection from a virus carrier is about two meters, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said, adding South Korea could cut off the "chain of transmission" if the entire population strictly follows hygiene rules to prevent a pandemic.

KCDC data showed that 44,167 people have tested negative for the virus with the examination of 24,751 still in progress. Health officials promised to speed up the examination of suspected cases, saying South Korea is faster than any other country in isolating the virus, distributing diagnostic kits and diagnosing accurately on a very large scale.
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