Can the World Copy South Korea's Coronavirus Plan?
2020-03-24
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1On Thursday morning, VOA's reporter in Seoul, William Gallo, received a text message from South Korea's emergency alert system.
2The message appeared on his telephone.
3He has received such texts hundreds of times during the coronavirus outbreak.
4Someone in Gallo's Seoul neighborhood - a 35-year-old man - had tested positive for the virus.
5The text message provided a link to a government website that listed everything about the man's activities for the past two days.
6The man apparently arrived at Seoul's Incheon airport at about nine in the morning.
7He took a train to a train station near Gallo's home, and then went to a small food store.
8Five hours later, he went to a restaurant.
9More information followed.
10By now, messages like this one are commonplace in South Korea.
11Gallo says his phone receives more than 10 messages about infections in his neighborhood on some days.
12When he goes to other parts of Seoul, his phone provides information about cases in those neighborhoods.
13To prepare these messages, South Korea uses in-person interviews.
14It also uses large amounts of personal information, bank records, phone information as well as video from cameras around the city.
15This is possible because South Korean lawmakers changed privacy laws after the outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in 2015.
16The disease caused 39 deaths in the country.
17Now, during dangerous outbreaks, officials can easily get everyone's private information without a court order.
18As a result, South Korea has been able to identify areas with more than one coronavirus case and quickly investigate the path of the infection.
19It can tell those infected to stay home and warn the public to avoid that area.
20The result has been stunning.
21South Korea has reported one of the lowest coronavirus death rates in the world: as of Monday, only 111 people have died out of 8,961 cases.
22The rate of new infections has also decreased.
23After reaching 909 new cases a day on February 29, South Korea reported just 64 new cases on Monday.
24South Korea's methods of fighting coronavirus have been praised as the model of how to contain the virus.
25It avoids forced restrictions on movement and does not lead to widespread closure of businesses.
26Some people, however, are worried about the loss of privacy.
27Kenneth Roth is executive director of Human Rights Watch.
28He told VOA his organization is worried governments may use the threat of coronavirus to increase their powers of surveillance.
29"Once we allow them to be regularly used and give up... our right of privacy, it will be very difficult" to end it, said Roth.
30If South Korea is reducing privacy in exchange for fighting the virus, many South Koreans seem to accept it happily.
31Amid the coronavirus crisis, South Korean President Moon Jae-in is enjoying his highest approval ratings in months.
32In some ways, South Korea's government is helped in the fight against coronavirus by what remains of its authoritarian past, says Lee Sang-sin.
33He is an expert on political science and public opinion at the Korean Institute for National Unification.
34South Korea has a national registration system, he noted.
35Everyone has an identification number that must be given when buying a telephone.
36That has made it easier for government officials to find suspected coronavirus patients.
37There are other reasons it may be difficult for countries to use the South Korean system to fight coronavirus.
38South Korea is a small country, and is home to 51 million people.
39More than 50 percent live in cities and are easy to find.
40Most importantly, everyone in South Korea, including non-citizens, is part of a national healthcare system.
41Within the system, South Korea quickly built about 50 drive-thru testing centers.
42These have been praised internationally for their safety and effectiveness.
43As the number of new coronavirus infections decreases, life in Seoul has begun to return to the way it was before the outbreak.
44Schools are still closed, but people are out in public spaces and open areas.
45I'm Ashley Thompson.
1On Thursday morning, VOA's reporter in Seoul, William Gallo, received a text message from South Korea's emergency alert system. The message appeared on his telephone. He has received such texts hundreds of times during the coronavirus outbreak. 2Someone in Gallo's Seoul neighborhood - a 35-year-old man - had tested positive for the virus. The text message provided a link to a government website that listed everything about the man's activities for the past two days. 3The man apparently arrived at Seoul's Incheon airport at about nine in the morning. He took a train to a train station near Gallo's home, and then went to a small food store. Five hours later, he went to a restaurant. More information followed. 4By now, messages like this one are commonplace in South Korea. Gallo says his phone receives more than 10 messages about infections in his neighborhood on some days. When he goes to other parts of Seoul, his phone provides information about cases in those neighborhoods. 5To prepare these messages, South Korea uses in-person interviews. It also uses large amounts of personal information, bank records, phone information as well as video from cameras around the city. 6This is possible because South Korean lawmakers changed privacy laws after the outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in 2015. The disease caused 39 deaths in the country. Now, during dangerous outbreaks, officials can easily get everyone's private information without a court order. 7The plan has worked 8As a result, South Korea has been able to identify areas with more than one coronavirus case and quickly investigate the path of the infection. It can tell those infected to stay home and warn the public to avoid that area. 9The result has been stunning. South Korea has reported one of the lowest coronavirus death rates in the world: as of Monday, only 111 people have died out of 8,961 cases. 10The rate of new infections has also decreased. After reaching 909 new cases a day on February 29, South Korea reported just 64 new cases on Monday. 11South Korea's methods of fighting coronavirus have been praised as the model of how to contain the virus. It avoids forced restrictions on movement and does not lead to widespread closure of businesses. 12Some people, however, are worried about the loss of privacy. 13Kenneth Roth is executive director of Human Rights Watch. He told VOA his organization is worried governments may use the threat of coronavirus to increase their powers of surveillance. 14"Once we allow them to be regularly used and give up... our right of privacy, it will be very difficult" to end it, said Roth. 15If South Korea is reducing privacy in exchange for fighting the virus, many South Koreans seem to accept it happily. 16Amid the coronavirus crisis, South Korean President Moon Jae-in is enjoying his highest approval ratings in months. 17In some ways, South Korea's government is helped in the fight against coronavirus by what remains of its authoritarian past, says Lee Sang-sin. He is an expert on political science and public opinion at the Korean Institute for National Unification. 18South Korea has a national registration system, he noted. Everyone has an identification number that must be given when buying a telephone. That has made it easier for government officials to find suspected coronavirus patients. 19There are other reasons it may be difficult for countries to use the South Korean system to fight coronavirus. 20South Korea is a small country, and is home to 51 million people. More than 50 percent live in cities and are easy to find. 21Most importantly, everyone in South Korea, including non-citizens, is part of a national healthcare system. 22Within the system, South Korea quickly built about 50 drive-thru testing centers. These have been praised internationally for their safety and effectiveness. 23Back to normal? 24As the number of new coronavirus infections decreases, life in Seoul has begun to return to the way it was before the outbreak. 25Schools are still closed, but people are out in public spaces and open areas. 26I'm Ashley Thompson. 27VOA's William Gallo reported this story. Susan Shand adapted it for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. 28________________________________________________________________ 29Words in This Story 30outbreak - n. the sudden appearance of a sickness 31positive - adj. a good outcome 32interview - n. to ask a person questions 33stunning - adj. an extraordinary event 34surveillance - n. following and watching a person 35allow - v. to let someone do something 36authoritarian - adj. oppressive, lacking democracy