Strategies to Respond to COVID-19 in the Republic of South Korea

Event: Health System Response to COVID-19: Lessons from the Republic of Korea

Strategies to Respond to COVID-19 in the Republic of South Korea

20 April 2020

Author / Speaker:

Sung-Il Cho , School of Public Health, Seoul National University - Other materials by the author

The approach taken by the Republic of Korea to the COVID-19 outbreak has been characterized as “trace, test, and treat” policy. Intensive contact tracing methods have been developed during the MERS outbreak in 2015. Contacts with a COVID-19 case are quarantined and tested for diagnosis. High availability of testing is essential for focused quarantine. Timely quarantine reduces the number of patients to treat, keeping the outbreak under control. In addition, asymptomatic transmission necessitates sufficient levels of social distancing. This is currently the greatest challenge, since the epidemic is expected to last long.

Geographical Focus:

Korea, Republic of

Type of Content:

Learning Event

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