"South Africa on the Other Side of the Globe Also Praises 'Korean-Style COVID-19 Response, Worth Emulating'"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Shinwon Yoon] Professors from prestigious universities in South Africa have argued that the country should emulate South Korea's response to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

On the 18th (local time), Alex van den Heever and other faculty members from the University of the Witwatersrand published an article titled "South Africa Needs a Post-Lockdown Strategy Following South Korea" on the online platform 'The Conversation,' which combines academia and journalism. Eight professors from various fields including public policy, health, and management participated in the article.

The article was reported on the 20th by local media such as South Africa's 24-hour news channel 'eNCA.'

The article discussed what strategy South Africa should adopt after the lockdown ends at the end of this month.

The professors, including health experts specializing in vaccinology, pointed out that although South Africa gained valuable time by implementing an early lockdown, the economic losses caused by the nationwide lockdown are too great.

South Africa's lockdown is considered one of the strictest mobility restrictions and business closure regulations in the world.

The professors introduced the Korean-style response model as effective when the number of infections is still small and controllable. As of the 20th, 121,510 people have been tested in South Africa, with 3,300 confirmed cases. The cumulative death toll is 58, and 1,055 people have recovered.

The professors noted that when COVID-19 first broke out in Wuhan, China, most countries including South Africa only monitored the situation without taking significant measures, whereas South Korea responded proactively. They elaborated that South Korea's proactive response was possible due to the learning effect from handling the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreak in 2015, as well as citizens voluntarily practicing social distancing in response to government measures.

The professors said, "We developed a model based on South Korea's experience," adding, "South Africa urgently needs to prioritize mass testing and contact tracing of infected individuals, which will provide the best opportunity to save national health and the economy."

What the professors particularly noted from the Korean case was that by aggressively confirming COVID-19 infections, isolating infected individuals, and tracing and quarantining contacts, a significant portion of the economy could remain open.

The professors pointed out that South Africa's lockdown strategy so far has focused mainly on epidemiological logic, resulting in enormous economic losses as a trade-off.

They indicated that to respond to a surge in COVID-19 cases solely through lockdown measures, the lockdown would need to continue for up to 192 days, or more than six months, which would reduce South Africa's gross domestic product (GDP) by 2.5 trillion rand (approximately 161.5 trillion Korean won), equivalent to half of the GDP.

However, they explained that Korean-style mass testing costs far less than lockdowns. Even when calculating South Korea's testing of up to 17,000 people per day as an annual cost, it amounts to only 0.4 times the daily cost of a lockdown. Even if South Africa raises its daily testing target to 36,000 by the end of this month, it would only be 0.8 times the daily cost of the lockdown.

That said, the professors noted that South Africa differs from South Korea in that 'spatial apartheid' (separation of black and white populations) persists, there are many multigenerational families, and there are concerns about national capacity.

They added, "Despite these risks, South Africa cannot afford to continue extending regular lockdown measures," emphasizing that "securing mass testing and contact tracing capabilities before the current lockdown ends is critically important."

Previously, Ambassador Jongdae Park to South Africa appeared in local media to introduce South Korea's quarantine cases, but it is unusual for local experts to emphasize the Korean-style response as they have done this time.

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