Italy: "Korea's COVID-19 Response Should Be Learned"

Local Media Focus on Han Method... "Active Investigation and Transparent Disclosure of Risk Group Movements"
Growing Calls for Active Adoption of Han Method

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] In Italy, where the number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) is rapidly increasing, there is a growing call to adopt South Korea's response model.

On the 22nd (local time), the Milan daily newspaper La Stampa focused on South Korea's comprehensive approach of tracking the movements of infected individuals and responding through testing. It introduced measures such as actively testing everyone who might be infected regardless of symptoms, and publicly disclosing the movements of confirmed cases, their contacts, and high-risk groups who violated self-quarantine orders. The article stated, "Citizens become aware of the distribution of infected areas and high-risk zones and take precautions themselves," and evaluated that "the recent speed of virus spread in South Korea has drastically slowed, and unlike Italy, public venues and factories have not been closed."

The article emphasized the need to wisely handle privacy concerns considering the emergency situation. Gianni Rezza, Director of the Infectious Diseases Department at the National Institute of Health (ISS), the top expert institution in the virus field, said, "Although there are controversies about privacy infringement, this is an emergency situation," and added, "Since South Korea, a democratic country, is doing it, there is no reason why we cannot."

The national daily Il Sole 24 Ore also introduced South Korea's response on the 20th with an article titled "Tracking Movements and Civic Awareness: The Secret Weapon to Defeat the Virus." It highlighted that South Korea is internationally recognized for controlling the virus without resorting to extreme lockdown policies like China. The article particularly praised the public's attitude of trusting and cooperating with government policies. The newspaper stated, "In Korean society, voices criticizing those who break laws are stronger than in Italy." It also highly evaluated the designation of specialized public medical institutions and the establishment of a cooperative system with private medical institutions following the 2015 Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreak.

Walter Ricciardi, an advisor to the Italian Ministry of Health and a member of the World Health Organization (WHO) Board, said in an interview with the daily La Repubblica, "We have launched a study group to research the detailed methods of the South Korean response model," and added, "The more we look at the COVID-19 graphs of Italy and South Korea, the more convinced we are that we should follow South Korea's response strategy, and I will propose that Italy adopt it as well."

Meanwhile, as of the 22nd, Italy's cumulative confirmed COVID-19 cases totaled 59,138, with 5,476 deaths. The number of confirmed cases is the second highest in the world after China, and the death toll is the largest worldwide.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.