"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
11 comments
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ReplyDeleteAmazing news!
ReplyDeleteWow, I hope this situation could quickly be solved and pass.. let's all have strong hearts and always hoping for the best for all the medics out there
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work South Korea! You're a great role model in solving these cases effectively and well!
ReplyDeleteWow South Korea is really good at handling this! I hope the situation is getting better!
ReplyDeleteQuick and efficient is how it should be!
ReplyDeleteI pray that everything will get better.
ReplyDeleteNorth America, Europe... the rest of the countries can learn from countries like South Korea and Taiwan.
ReplyDeletelet's keep learning from this situation. being nice to each other and be those who continue to hold on to the hope of better times ahead
ReplyDeleteThe more I read these articles, the more I feel that people seem to be not interested in the truth. Only find provocative things. Truth is not interested in them. Thank you for writing a good article, noah.
ReplyDelete