A drive-through coronavirus test in Seoul. A device to spray disinfectants on individuals as they pass through at entrances is known as a body sterilizer—a mobile application to monitor foreign visitors’ health status.
In the technologically superior South Korea’s battle against COVID-19, these and other ground-breaking remedies emerged, and as the worldwide pandemic gained strength, they increasingly attracted interest from other nations.
More than 200,000 individuals have been infected by the virus, which originated in China, and 9,000 people have died as a result. There are 92 fatalities and more than 8,500 illnesses in just South Korea.
Last week, Vice-Health Minister Kim Gang-lip stated: “We are pursuing innovative solutions and we are fully utilising cutting-edge information technology in this respect.”
According to him, the nation has already developed “several world-class best practises in our fight against the disease,” such as drive-through testing facilities and epidemiological research that uses GPS data.
As the number of illness cases increased, the United States and the United Kingdom implemented comparable drive-through test facilities.
There are 50 of these stations spread out across South Korea. In only ten minutes, patients experiencing symptoms can drive up, roll down their windows, and allow medical personnel to collect their personal information and nasal and throat swabs. The following day, they learn their results.
Six tests can be performed in an hour using this method, three times faster than in a hospital setting where patients must be cleaned between testing.
The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 2018 research project introduced the concept of a drive-through clinic (KCDC).
According to Dr. Shin Hee-jun from Soonchunhyang University Hospital, who took part in the study, it was motivated by an anti-terrorism exercise involving giving out medical supplies to the general population.
According to him, the purpose of the drive-through method is to speed up testing and reduce the chance that someone may become ill while in the testing area.