[Q&A] "As the number of confirmed cases decreases, it becomes harder to trace infection routes... Active diagnostic testing is necessary"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] It has been revealed that 1 out of every 100 people in the nation has undergone testing for the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

On the 11th, Kwon Jun-wook, Deputy Director of the Central Disease Control Headquarters, explained at a briefing held at the Osong Disease Control Headquarters in Chungbuk, "More than 510,000 people have been tested so far," adding, "This means that 1 out of every 100 citizens has been tested."

Deputy Director Kwon stated, "As the number of patients decreases, it becomes more difficult to detect 'silent transmission,'" and urged, "Each medical institution should actively conduct diagnostic tests if COVID-19 is suspected."

He continued, "All tests conducted after medical staff suspect COVID-19 and report it through the local health center are covered by health insurance and can receive testing cost support."

◇Below is a Q&A with Deputy Director Kwon regarding related matters

- A doctor posted on SNS that "The government is preventing diagnostic testing ahead of the general election, so confirmed cases will not increase before the election. The guidelines were revised so that previously, testing was possible if suspected by a doctor's opinion, but now testing is only done if pneumonia is visible on CT or X-ray."

▲I understand that the doctor posted the message but later removed it. According to the government's COVID-19 response guidelines, medical staff can report patients showing suspicious symptoms as suspected COVID-19 cases. When revising these guidelines, sufficient discussions were held with the medical community and local governments. Medical staff should continue to report and request diagnostic tests as before if COVID-19 is suspected.

- At what level of confirmed case trends can we transition to daily preventive measures?

▲The overall scale of occurrence must obviously maintain a significant downward trend, and cases with untraceable transmission links must continue to appear very rarely. However, the COVID-19 virus itself is very formidable, and the asymptomatic rate is quite high, which is concerning. Since transmission through viral shedding is possible even before symptom onset during the incubation period, I think transitioning to daily preventive measures is not easy.

- Cases of reinfection after recovery continue to occur.

▲We are investigating this while discussing with various experts. There are several possibilities, and we have also confirmed the stance of China, where more patients have occurred than in our country. In China’s case, there have been suggestions that weakened viral fragments might have been detected. Some experts have also mentioned that test results may vary depending on the immunity of previously confirmed patients or, although very rare, the possibility of testing errors. In fact, antibody formation and PCR tests produce values called CT values, and related analyses are underway.

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