Jeonnam Province's 'Rapid PCR Testing' Featured as a National Best Practice by the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters

[Muan=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Jeonnam Province announced on the 2nd that the rapid PCR testing service, conducted for about 16,000 workers at Yeongam Daebul National Industrial Complex and Samho Shipyard, was introduced as an excellent case of proactive quarantine by the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH).

The rapid PCR testing service was proactively carried out for four days starting from the 22nd of last month in Daebul Industrial Complex, where many foreign workers are employed, following a cluster infection of about 120 foreign workers at the Namyangju Industrial Complex.

As a result of the tests conducted at two locations within Daebul Industrial Complex and four locations at Samho Shipyard, 14,072 Koreans and 1,787 foreigners, totaling 15,859 people, were all confirmed negative.

The rapid PCR test was introduced by Yeoju City, Gyeonggi Province, at the end of last year. It combines the high diagnostic accuracy of the PCR test method with the quick result turnaround of rapid antigen tests, completing from specimen collection to result interpretation within one and a half hours.

Since the specimen collection method uses saliva instead of the conventional nasal and throat (nasopharyngeal swab) method, it reduces discomfort for test subjects and allows up to 94 samples to be analyzed at once.

Jeonnam Province set up screening clinics in areas densely populated by foreign workers, allowing free testing during breaks and lunch hours. To alleviate reluctance to testing due to exposure of illegal residents’ identities, the tests were conducted anonymously.

Accordingly, both Koreans and foreigners actively cooperated with the testing, building mutual trust and increasing the testing rate. As a result, the CDSCH introduced this as an excellent case of proactive COVID-19 testing by local governments on the same day.

Kang Young-gu, Director of the Health and Welfare Bureau of Jeonnam Province, said, “No confirmed cases were found among foreign workers in the province, which helped ease residents’ anxiety. We will continue to do our best to make Jeonnam safe from COVID-19.”

In Jeonnam, from the night of the 1st to 10 a.m. on the 2nd, two additional COVID-19 local infections were reported?one in Naju and two in Hampyeong. This brings the total confirmed cases in Jeonnam to 868, including 799 local infections and 69 imported cases.