Starting Today, Rapid Antigen Tests for COVID-19 Available at 256 Selected Screening Clinics Nationwide

On the 28th, one day before the Lunar New Year holiday, people are lining up for testing at the COVID-19 screening clinic at Gangseo-gu Public Health Center in Seoul. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Hyewon] Starting from the 29th, a new diagnostic testing system will be operated nationwide, beginning with COVID-19 screening clinics.

According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, from this day until the end of the Lunar New Year holiday, PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests and rapid antigen tests will be conducted concurrently at 256 COVID-19 screening clinics installed in public health centers and large hospitals nationwide.

Visitors to the screening clinics can choose between the current PCR test, which has high accuracy but takes at least half a day to get results, or the rapid antigen test, which has lower accuracy but provides results within minutes.

From the 3rd of next month, immediately after the Lunar New Year holiday, the new testing system will be fully implemented, where priority test subjects will receive PCR tests, and others will receive rapid antigen tests.

From that time, the new testing system will be introduced not only at screening clinics but also at approximately 1,000 hospitals and clinics participating in COVID-19 care nationwide, including 213 temporary screening clinics and 431 respiratory-specialized clinics.

Under the new testing system, the 'priority test subjects' who will receive PCR tests first include ▲elderly people aged 60 or older ▲those with a doctor's note indicating the need for testing ▲epidemiologically related persons (close contacts, overseas entrants, pre-release quarantine testers) ▲persons related to vulnerable facilities (nursing facility workers, foreigner protection facilities, juvenile protection institutions, correctional facility inmates, soldiers returning from leave, patients prior to hospital admission) ▲and those confirmed positive by rapid antigen tests.

In such cases, bringing identification, employment certificates, text messages designating test subjects, doctor's notes, leave certificates, or other proof confirming priority status to the screening clinic will allow immediate PCR testing.

Those not in the priority group can receive rapid antigen tests at designated medical institutions such as screening clinics or respiratory-specialized clinics, and only if the result is positive can they receive PCR testing. When visiting a respiratory-specialized clinic, patients will undergo a medical examination followed by a rapid antigen test (professional use). The test is free, but the consultation fee of 5,000 KRW must be paid by the patient.

If the rapid antigen test is positive or a doctor determines that a COVID-19 test is necessary, the person will be included in the priority test group and can receive PCR testing at screening clinics or the relevant medical institution. Upon final confirmation of a positive result, oral treatments such as 'Paxlovid' will be prescribed at the hospital or clinic.

Visitors to screening clinics or temporary screening clinics can receive rapid antigen test kits (for personal use) free of charge. Although the principle is to use the test kits on-site, if the waiting line is long, they may take the kits home for use.

However, negative certificates for the quarantine pass (vaccination certificate/negative confirmation system) can only be issued if the test is conducted under the supervision of an on-site manager and the result is negative.

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