Saturday, March 28, 2020 2:38:56 PM
Just one week after the country’s first case was diagnosed, South Korean officials met with representatives from 20 medical companies to request they immediately develop COVID-19 test kits for mass production.
One week after that meeting, South Korea’s equivalent of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began approving companies’ diagnostic tests with others soon following. Within two weeks, South Korea was producing 100,000 kits per day.
Early in the pandemic, South Korea was testing 10,000 to 20,000 people per day at a time when the U.S. had not reached that level cumulatively. South Korea created 600 testing sites, including drive-thru test centers, where people didn’t need to leave their cars and got results within hours.
Seoul immediately began the testing of asymptomatic people, rather than restricting testing to those with severe conditions or a history of contact with affected regions or people, as in the United States.
South Korea isolated and treated patients with mild or even no symptoms, which constrained further spread and minimized the impact on hospitals.
On March 20, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized a new test that could detect the coronavirus in about 45 minutes with test kits to begin shipping by the end of the month. South Korea already has a 10-minute test kit and plans to export 300,000 kits per week.
President Donald Trump has requested medical assistance from South Korea.
However, South Korea’s effective testing program comes at a cost of Orwellian high-tech surveillance.
After the 2015 MERS outbreak, South Korea developed new procedures and revised laws to enable more aggressive contact-tracing. The government was given the ability to access citizens’ credit card records, cellphone GPS data, bank records, and the wide-ranging network of security cameras.
South Korea has the highest proportion of cashless transactions in the world and one of the world’s highest rates of cellphone ownership, along with millions of security cameras.
During dangerous epidemics, authorities have warrantless access to the private data.
Once someone is confirmed with COVID-19, the government can retrace their movements and alert, notify, and if necessary, quarantine others who may have come into contact with them. Quarantined people are required to download a monitoring app that alerts authorities if they break isolation.
As South Koreans move about the country, they receive new geographically linked alerts about those who have been infected.
The granularity of the information is impressive, if not intimidating. An individual’s movements, purchases, and images can be minutely detailed, including whether they were wearing a mask or not at a given time.
South Korea should be commended for implementing a quick and effective response that curtailed the spread of COVID-19. Even before there were many cases in the country, President Moon Jae-in’s administration brought together government agencies, reached out to the private sector, and took bold action.
That effort was in contrast to the slower pace and less urgent warnings of the U.S. government. Because of the slow and limited nature of COVID-19 testing in the United States, the extent of the virus and the number of infected citizens was not well understood.
Washington was also hampered by cumbersome rules which—unlike in South Korea—constrained the private sector from responding to the need for tests.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention took the lead in creating test kits, but initially produced faulty systems with lengthy vetting procedures.
The CDC also insisted on narrow criteria for testing individuals, focusing on those with strong symptoms with recent travel to China, rather than the less restrictive protocol in South Korea, which enabled detecting infected people with few or no symptoms.
Finally, the South Korean government’s warrantless access to personal data enabled effective epidemic response, but with a Big Brother invasiveness that would be anathema to American standards of personal privacy.
https://www.dailysignal.com/2020/03/27/south-korea-provides-lessons-good-and-bad-on-coronavirus-response/
Recent AMRN News
- Research Highlighting the Clinical Impact of VASCEPA®/VAZKEPA (icosapent ethyl) in Patients with Diabetes and High Cardiovascular Risk and the Anti-Lp(a) Oxidation Mechanistic Effect of Eicosapentaenoic Acid (EPA) to be Presented at the 60th Annual Europe • GlobeNewswire Inc. • 09/09/2024 11:30:00 AM
- Latest Research Highlighting VASCEPA®/VAZKEPA® (icosapent ethyl) REDUCE-IT® Subgroup Data and New Mechanistic Insights into Eicosapentaenoic Acid (EPA) to be Presented at European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress • GlobeNewswire Inc. • 08/22/2024 12:30:00 PM
- Form 4 - Statement of changes in beneficial ownership of securities • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 08/05/2024 09:30:03 PM
- Form 4 - Statement of changes in beneficial ownership of securities • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 08/01/2024 08:54:53 PM
- Form 4 - Statement of changes in beneficial ownership of securities • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 08/01/2024 08:54:46 PM
- Form 8-K - Current report • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 07/31/2024 11:05:34 AM
- Form 10-Q - Quarterly report [Sections 13 or 15(d)] • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 07/31/2024 11:05:26 AM
- Amarin Reports Second Quarter 2024 Financial Results and Provides Business Update • GlobeNewswire Inc. • 07/31/2024 11:00:00 AM
- Form 8-K - Current report • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 07/29/2024 09:30:08 PM
- Amarin Receives National Reimbursement for VAZKEPA® (icosapent ethyl) in Portugal • GlobeNewswire Inc. • 07/17/2024 08:15:00 PM
- Amarin to Report Second Quarter 2024 Financial Results and Host Conference Call on July 31, 2024 • GlobeNewswire Inc. • 07/17/2024 12:00:00 PM
- Amarin Partner EddingPharm Receives Regulatory Approval for VASCEPA® (Icosapent Ethyl) in Mainland China for Cardiovascular Risk Reduction (CVRR) • GlobeNewswire Inc. • 07/08/2024 11:30:00 AM
- Form 8-K - Current report • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 06/04/2024 11:30:10 AM
- Amarin Board of Directors Announces CEO Transition • GlobeNewswire Inc. • 06/04/2024 11:30:00 AM
- Amarin Receives National Reimbursement for VAZKEPA® (icosapent ethyl) in Greece and Announces Exclusive Marketing and Commercialization Agreement with Vianex S.A. • GlobeNewswire Inc. • 05/28/2024 12:15:23 PM
- Amarin to Present at H.C. Wainwright 2nd Annual BioConnect Investor Conference • GlobeNewswire Inc. • 05/06/2024 12:00:00 PM
- Amarin Reports First Quarter 2024 Business Update and Financial Results • GlobeNewswire Inc. • 05/01/2024 11:00:00 AM
- Amarin Applauds HealthyWomen’s Citizen’s Petition Urging FDA To Take Further Action On Fenofibrate Prescribing in Patients at Risk of Cardiovascular Event • GlobeNewswire Inc. • 04/24/2024 06:00:01 PM
- Amarin Announces Results of Annual General Meeting of Shareholders • GlobeNewswire Inc. • 04/22/2024 12:00:25 PM
- Amarin to Report First Quarter 2024 Financial Results and Host Conference Call on May 1, 2024 • GlobeNewswire Inc. • 04/15/2024 12:00:00 PM
- Amarin Highlights Key Data Providing Mechanistic Insights into Eicosapentaenoic Acid (EPA) at ACC.24 • GlobeNewswire Inc. • 04/08/2024 12:00:00 PM
- New REDUCE-IT® Analyses Show VASCEPA® (Icosapent Ethyl) Benefit in High-Risk Cardiovascular Disease Patient Subgroups • PR Newswire (Canada) • 04/08/2024 10:30:00 AM
- New REDUCE-IT® Analyses Show VASCEPA®/VAZKEPA® (Icosapent Ethyl) Benefit in High-Risk Cardiovascular Disease Patient Subgroups • GlobeNewswire Inc. • 04/06/2024 07:30:00 PM
- Amarin Provides Update on VAZKEPA® (Icosapent Ethyl) Intellectual Property Portfolio in Europe • GlobeNewswire Inc. • 04/03/2024 12:00:00 PM
- Research Evaluating Benefits of VASCEPA®/VAZKEPA® (icosapent ethyl) to be Presented at the American College of Cardiology’s (ACC) Annual Scientific Session & Expo • GlobeNewswire Inc. • 03/25/2024 12:00:00 PM
VHAI - Vocodia Partners with Leading Political Super PACs to Revolutionize Fundraising Efforts • VHAI • Sep 19, 2024 11:48 AM
Dear Cashmere Group Holding Co. AKA Swifty Global Signs Binding Letter of Intent to be Acquired by Signing Day Sports • DRCR • Sep 19, 2024 10:26 AM
HealthLynked Launches Virtual Urgent Care Through Partnership with Lyric Health. • HLYK • Sep 19, 2024 8:00 AM
Element79 Gold Corp. Appoints Kevin Arias as Advisor to the Board of Directors, Strengthening Strategic Leadership • ELMGF • Sep 18, 2024 10:29 AM
Mawson Finland Limited Further Expands the Known Mineralized Zones at Rajapalot: Palokas step-out drills 7 metres @ 9.1 g/t gold & 706 ppm cobalt • MFL • Sep 17, 2024 9:02 AM
PickleJar Announces Integration With OptCulture to Deliver Holistic Fan Experiences at Venue Point of Sale • PKLE • Sep 17, 2024 8:00 AM