Korea's containment measures published in peer-reviewed US journal

Quarantine officials prepare for tracing and treating of COVID-19 patients at a hospital in Gyeonggi Province, Oct. 18. Korea Times file

By Lee Kyung-min

A study of Korea's COVID-19 containment measures was published in a noted U.S. peer-reviewed journal, the finance ministry said Thursday.

This is the latest in a slew of worldwide recognition Korea earned following effective policies put in place since the pandemic wreaked havoc around the world.

The study ― “Flattening the curve on COVID-19: South Korea's measures in tackling initial outbreak of coronavirus” ― was published by the American Journal of Epidemiology. The premier journal ― the oldest and the official publication of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health ― publishes empirical research findings, opinion pieces and methodological developments.

Economy and Finance Ministry Development Finance Bureau Director Lee Dae-joong was one of the study's authors.

The research detailed how Korea implemented measures that prioritized testing, tracing and treating, a combination bolstered by heightened civic awareness and voluntary cooperation from citizens ― notably personal hygiene measures including wearing masks.

These, the paper said, are the core competencies to be strengthened by developing countries to get the virus under control.

The study is based on the field experience of the government's COVID-19 response team who participated in drafting “Tackling COVID-19,” a 120-page booklet written by officials at the Ministry of Economy and Finance. It contains in-depth analysis of similar experience from the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) of 2015.

The paper said it is crucial that the government responds efficiently as “one team” to cooperate and respond to COVID-19.

A novel approach is needed, it noted, to combat the spread of the virus, adding that information and communication technology (ICT) had a key role in Korea's strategy to contain COVID-19.

Also contributing to the effective response was a successful partnership between the public and the authorities.

The study said while Korea's case provides policy implications for health and quarantine experts and government officials around the world, there are also clear limitations to Korea's response, as its approach may be difficult to emulate even for countries with advanced health and medical institutions and professionals like the U.S. and the U.K.

It recommended that further necessary research topics should include contact tracing and privacy protection.

These are relevant since digital contact tracing was possible after the 2015 MERS outbreak through a revision of the relevant law, enabling it to override certain provisions of some privacy laws, thereby giving sweeping power to authorities to collect, profile, and share personal location information for epidemiological investigation.

This, however, has not happened in countries that lack such a legal framework, and delving into the issues could help find solutions that could help find a balance between the collection of personal information and the protection of the privacy of individual.

Another topic to be studied is the reopening of the economy and the loosening of social distancing measures, an issue many countries struggle with given strong lockdown and social distancing measures have been successful in limiting the spread but with clear economic, social and political consequences.