For this cultural post, I am going to talk about a topic that is very prevalent today, which is regarding SARS-CoV-2. At this point in time, the coronavirus has impacted the lives of everyone and has caused a halt of schools, jobs, and social interactions. The virus that had originated in Wuhan, China, has now spread throughout the world and has now been declared a global pandemic. People are coming together and isolating in order to stop and slow the spread of COVID-19, but it seems as though it will be a long time until our normal days can resume.
South Korea was one of the first countries to get impacted by this virus, and they got hit very hard. However, South Korea has been able to deal with this pandemic very well, which caused other countries to try and follow their example. I think one of the reasons they were able to this is a result of the culture and mindset of the Korean people. While other countries have continuous new cases every day, South Korea has been able to nearly flatline their new cases back around in mid-March. A reason for this is that the Korean people emphasized that it was imperative that everyone who is sick to come out in order to contain the disease and virus. As a result, in just a month, South Korea was able to contain the disease. In the image above, we can see one of the drive-thru testing options they implemented to ensure that everyone who thinks they have it can get tested without going out and spreading the virus even further.
In addition to providing tests, South Korea was able to produce an efficient test kit for SARS-CoV-2. A test kit produced by Seegene and his team, comprised about 80% of all South Korea’s testing kits. The testing kit targets primary structures and gene sequences, like the spike protein, of the coronavirus for testing. This efficacy has caused other countries all around the world to reach out and try to purchase these testing kits. I am excited and so glad that this testing kit was found early on and is now being used to help those around the world contain this virus.
SARS-CoV-2 has caused an immense amount of pain and struggle for everyone around the world. As the number of cases began to rise at an exponential rate back in February/March, I was very worried. Though I am sad that daily life for everyone has become halted, I know that it is more important than we think about keeping everyone safe. During these difficult times where so many people are dying and getting sick, it is important that everyone does their part in battling this virus. That is why I think South Korea set a good example in their method of dealing with this virus because they took the necessary steps in order to contain this disease. I say this because other countries, America included, were slow to react regarding this disease. If they took precautions early on, then the situation may not have been so dire, but it is important that we continue to strive and do better for our future.
Comments
I totally agree with you. I think South Korea is really doing a good job in fighting this pandemic. I was really worried when I heard Korean news talking about breakouts in Daegu which is where most of my relatives live. I'm really glad Korea as a whole is fighting well and they are really stepping up to show a good example to the rest of the world.