"COVID-19 in South Korea and USA: 'Same Start, Different Results' - 5 Reasons Why" (Cheonji Ilbo/Daily)

On 5th April 2020, Cheonji Ilbo (Cheonji Daily) published an article entitled “COVID-19 in South Korea and USA: 'Same Start, Different Results' - 5 Reasons Why”. This is a translation of that article

(photo) US President Donald Trump gives a briefing on the new coronavirus infection (COVID-19) at the White House on the 3rd (local time). The White House stated that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends covering one’s face when outdoors, especially when in close proximity to others. 2020.4.3

January 20th: First case of COVID-19 diagnosed in South Korea and USA. Since 10th March, South Korea seemingly stabilized. The United States has 311,357 confirmed cases.

Daegu's medical infrastructure and the commitment of medical staff plays a role

Response posture, advanced diagnostics, and medical system made all the difference

South Korea and the United States, which confirmed the first case of COVID-19 on the same day, show markedly different results.

The first confirmed case in Korea was of a Chinese woman who had arrived from Wuhan on January 20th. In the United States, the first confirmed case came out on January 21st.

As of April 5th, there were 10,237 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Korea and 183 deaths while, on the other hand, there were 313,570 confirmed cases and 8452 deaths in the US.

Considering that the U.S. population numbers 330 million, which is roughly six times that of Korea (51 million), having nearly 30 times more confirmed cases and over 20 times deaths is inexcusable and a failure on the part of the US government's Defence team.

The problem in the United States is that COVID-19 is not only exploding, but also on the verge of collapse. How did the United States, which initially showed confidence in having 'no need for a mask' reach this point?

◆ After March 10th, stability improved while the US surged

The upward trend of COVID-19 cases in Korea has been stabilising since March 10th (7513). As of April 5th, 6463 of the 10,237 confirmed cases were in quarantine, leaving 3591 patients receiving treatment and 183 deaths.

In the United States, by March 10th, the total number of confirmed patients was 994, far lower than that of Korea. However, on March 11th cases surpassed 1000 (1301) then 100,000 (101,260 on March 27th). Four days later, on April 1st, cases surpassed 200,000 (215,003), and three days later, on April 4th (local time), the number of confirmed cases totalled 330,000 with 8400 deaths.

New York State in particular, which has a high population density, registered 117,750 confirmed cases and 3565 deaths within four days, and the spread of COVID-19 is likely to worsen.

According to the tracking site Worldometer, the world's highest COVID-19 cases is in the United States which, on the 5th at 11am, totalled 311,357 people. This is followed by 126,168 in Spain, 124,632 in Italy, and 96,092 in Germany.

① U.S. member of the tragedy - 'Arrogance' of US government

The United States is stigmatized as the world's leader in cumulative deficit, surpassing Italy and Spain. This is mainly due to the arrogance of the US government.

President Trump expressed his confidence in dealing with the response to COVID-19 by treating it to the flu since the first confirmed case of COVID-19 occurred on January 21st in the United States. Also, on February 26th, he downplayed the threat of COVID-19, stating that the risk in the US is "very low".

In addition to President Trump’s remarks, according to MarketWatch on January 30th (local time), the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced, "I don't think the public needs to wear a mask unless it is in Hubei Province, China."

Critics argue that the attitude of President Trump and the CDC is the cause of the recent COVID-19 explosion.

Congresswoman and Democrat Nancy Pelosi recently appeared on CNN saying President Trump disregarded the severity of the situation, saying, "His denial at the beginning was fatal” and “as he fiddles, people are dying.”

The U.S. government only declared a national emergency on the 13th last month. The results of an initially dismal response and Americans’ subsequent shock, have been disastrous. The White House coronavirus Task Force devised a predictive model that forecasts upwards of 240,000 deaths in the future.

On the 3rd, the US amended existing guidelines and recommended that public masks and other face masks be worn voluntarily in public places. However, even medical staff are suffering from mask shortages.

In addition, expert analysis is pouring out and is pointing to the growth of new cases in medics and a surge in the number of general diagnoses and deaths, which is a worrying sign that the US medical system is on the verge of collapse.

A large number of new cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) were confirmed at the Catholic University Hospital of Uijeongbu, Geumo neighborhood, Uijeongbu city, Gyeonggi province. A thorough inspection of COVID-19 is in progress. The hospital closed its doors from the 1st.

②Diagnostic capabilities of South Korea and USA; medical system determines one’s fate

Experts from around the world consider the main reason for South Korea’s survival of the surge in COVID-19 as mass diagnostic capability. With a system capable of mass testing up to 20,000 cases a day, early detection and classification of diagnosed patients allows control over community infection.

On the other hand, in the United States, which was idle with COVID-19, there were only 400 tests carried out per day. In addition to failing to carry out a swift and aggressive response like in Korea, the cost of inspections also increased the disastrous outcome.

In Korea, the cost of testing is roughly 170,000 Korean won, while the initial cost for testing of COVID-19 in the US is about 5 million Korean won. The fact that the number of confirmed cases was initially low due to passive and high-cost inspection has recently been revealed through recent active inspection.

South Korea's advanced public healthcare system prevented the spread of COVID-19, while the United States' outdated medical insurance system prevented both diagnosis and treatment.

South Korea poses a minimal burden on hospital expenses thanks to the implementation of the National Health Insurance Service. In addition, the government is covering all costs of treatment for COVID-19 patients in order to 'assume full responsibility for preventing infectious diseases.' As a result, both patients and medical staff can focus on treatment. Such a system plays a major role in the COVID-19 response by enabling rapid diagnosis and active patient treatment.

On the other hand, in the background of a rapid increase in COVID-19 cases and fatalities in the US, the US medical insurance system is largely to blame.

The United States is considered to have the world’s worst health insurance system. Access to medical healthcare is dependent on one’s income, and more than half the population is uninsured. Even with insurance, hospital expenses are beyond imagination. In the case of patients suffering from influenza who do not have medical insurance, the inspection fee costs about 429 million won, compared to roughly 1.5 million won for those with insurance.

A woman in the United States who was recently diagnosed with COVID-19 and received hospital treatment revealed on YouTube that she had received a hospital bill of '43 million won' on her fifth day of treatment. To receive the same treatment in the United States as one would receive in South Korea would cost an American citizen at least 100 million won in hospital expenses.

The main reason for the rapid increase in COVID-19 cases in the United States is that American citizens are unable to cover the threshold of hospital fees because 'fees' pose more of a threat than COVID-19 itself.

Fortunately, Bloomberg News has reported that the U.S. government recently made plans to cover the costs of COVID-19 testing and treatment for patients without health insurance. If this goes ahead, anxious patients who have been in hiding will be actively tested and treated, meaning confirmed cases in the US will likely increase further.

③ Large-scale group infection could be managed because it happened in Daegu

As confirmed cases of COVID-19 surge in Daegu city, the city has shown signs of collapse due to shortages in hospital beds, a lack of facilities, and labor shortages. As a result, it was criticized for being 'the most vulnerable city'.

However, if you look more deeply, it's a good thing to be in Daegu. In South Korea, most of the infrastructure is concentrated within the metropolitan area. Indeed, medical infrastructure within other regions is much weaker.

Daegu has been selected as Korea's leading medical hub for five consecutive years. Since the initiation of the state-of-the-art medical complex in 2009, it has supported the creation of a central hub for international medical services, the establishment of a globally leading medical infrastructure, and is a leader in research and development.

It has the best medical infrastructure in Korea. It was reported that COVID-19 group infection caused temporary confusion as the number of confirmed cases exceeded capability of beds and facilities, but only Daegu was able to stop this level of confusion.

On the other hand, a large-scale cluster infection triggered in Daegu just one month after the first confirmed case raised concerns that no one is exempt from the epidemic, and it was an opportunity for the public to unite and adhere to COVID-19 prevention regulations.

Soldiers spray disinfectant outside Shincheonji Church of Jesus in Daegu

④ Korean Cluster infection, if it was a general church and not Shincheonji, then…

South Korea's COVID-19 crisis marked a turning point after the 31st, when Shincheonji Church confirmed a widespread cluster infection.

Although the COVID-19 crisis happened when the President was telling citizens to go back to everyday life, media coverage of Shincheonji Church has been flooding headlines for a while as the widespread cluster infection from Shincheonji Church in Daegu has become a concern to society. The media’s biggest criticism of Shincheonji Church was its covertness.

Ironically, however, the covertness of Shincheonji Church was rather positive for quarantining.

In fact, the established Church is significantly different to Shincheonji Church; attendance is rarely checked and even if you are not a member of the church, one can go in and out as one pleases so that one does not even know who came in and left.

On the other hand, in Shincheonji Church, records are made when entering or leaving any Shincheonji Church nationwide. Owing to this strict management system, Shincheonji Church was able to quickly and accurately submit a list of its members who had attended the Shincheonji Church service in Daegu, as instructed by health authorities. It would not be incorrect to say that Shincheonji is the only church that can flawlessly provide a list of its entire congregation of 245,000 members and students.

In addition, its service prohibition and self-quarantining measures has been compared to the established Church as the government has issued a ban on access to all churches and urged all church members to proactively self-isolate immediately after the occurrence of the 31st case.

Of course, it is clear that the cluster infection that occurred in Shincheonji Church could have occurred in any church or group.

On the morning of the 1st, Keimyung University Dongsan Medical Center in Daegu which is the regional base hospital for the new coronavirus infection (COVID-19). Medical staff are on their way to the preparation room for personal protective equipment to undertake medical shifts.

⑤ South Korea's largest secret weapon is medics, yet they receive controversial treatment

Above all, it is the private medical healthcare system and the Korean peoples’ ability to respond to the crisis that shed light on Korea's response to COVID-19. Among them, dedicated volunteers, such as medical volunteers and public health officials, who have risked their lives on the most dangerous medical sites, are the greatest secret weapon in Korea's response to COVID-19.

Medical staff are the highest at-risk group for infectious diseases. This is because they are in direct contact with confirmed patients and are constantly and repeatedly exposed to the virus. So it is human nature to try to keep away from infected patients. However, when a large-scale infection broke out in Daegu, medical staff from all over the country headed for Daegu.

Wearing compulsory COVID-19 ‘Level D’ personal protective equipment during patient care is heavy enough to leave a deep facial scar and leave one exhausted after two hours. Wearing such protective clothing, there were medical staff who took care of a patient for a long period of time away from the family, so patients could be treated and recovered quickly.

However, as the situation has prolonged, various problems have also emerged. The number of medical staff confirmed with COVID-19 is rapidly increasing, and one physician has died. Dongsan Hospital in Daegu failed to overcome their administrative burdens and fired over 50 medical staff who have dedicated to the COVID-19 incident.

On the 3rd, Dr. Young-Tae Yang urged the government to take urgent measures to protect medical workers, saying, “Medical infections can cause various problems.”

According to Dr. Yang, if a colleague contracts COVID-19, other medical staff may easily get psychologically withered, leading to their departure. Other medical staff must fill in the gap caused by the absence of medical staff. As a result, if work fatigue increases, there may be a number of problems occurring with regards patient care.

For this reason, Dr. Yang emphasized that “the medical staff's morale program should also be actively reviewed.”

To read the original article as published in Cheonji Ilbo (Cheonji Daily), click herehttps://bit.ly/2xRtD0W