tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
J Korean Med Sci
. 2020 Nov 23;35(45):e396.
doi: 10.3346/jkms.2020.35.e396.
Application of Testing-Tracing-Treatment Strategy in Response to the COVID-19 Outbreak in Seoul, Korea
Yoojin Park[SUP] 1 [/SUP], In Sil Huh[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Jaekyung Lee[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Cho Ryok Kang[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Sung Il Cho[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Hyon Jeen Ham[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Hea Sook Kim[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Jung Il Kim[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Baeg Ju Na[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Jin Yong Lee[SUP] 6 7 8 [/SUP], Seoul Metropolitan Government COVID-19 Rapid Response (SCoRR) Team
Affiliations
Abstract
Background: Following the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in Wuhan, China, a total of 637 patients had been diagnosed with the disease in Seoul as of May 2, 2020. Our study aimed to describe the impact of the 3T strategies (preemptive testing, prompt tracing and proper treatment) on the epidemiological characteristics of COVID-19 in Seoul.
Methods: The descriptive and explanatory analysis was carried out on critical indicators such as epidemiological characteristics and key duration of patient status change from January 24 to May 2 in Seoul before and after preemptive testing for patients under investigation associated with COVID-19 clusters.
Results: Preemptive testing increased the positive test rate (3.9% to 4.2%), an asymptomatic case at diagnosis (16.9% to 30.6%), and reduced the time from symptom onset to quarantine (4.0 to 3.0 days). Prompt tracing decreased unknown sources of infection (6.9% to 2.8%), the mean number of contacts (32.2 to 23.6), and the time-varying reproduction number R(t) (1.3 to 0.6). With proper treatment, only 2 cases of mortality occurred, resulting in a fatality rate of just 0.3%.
Conclusion: In the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic lasting 100 days, the effect of the 3T strategies flattened the curve and decreased the time during which infected individuals were contagious, thereby lowering the R(t) below 1 in Seoul.
Keywords: COVID-19; Korea; Outbreak; Response; SARS-CoV-2; Seoul.
. 2020 Nov 23;35(45):e396.
doi: 10.3346/jkms.2020.35.e396.
Application of Testing-Tracing-Treatment Strategy in Response to the COVID-19 Outbreak in Seoul, Korea
Yoojin Park[SUP] 1 [/SUP], In Sil Huh[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Jaekyung Lee[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Cho Ryok Kang[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Sung Il Cho[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Hyon Jeen Ham[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Hea Sook Kim[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Jung Il Kim[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Baeg Ju Na[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Jin Yong Lee[SUP] 6 7 8 [/SUP], Seoul Metropolitan Government COVID-19 Rapid Response (SCoRR) Team
Affiliations
- PMID: 33230987
- DOI: 10.3346/jkms.2020.35.e396
Abstract
Background: Following the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in Wuhan, China, a total of 637 patients had been diagnosed with the disease in Seoul as of May 2, 2020. Our study aimed to describe the impact of the 3T strategies (preemptive testing, prompt tracing and proper treatment) on the epidemiological characteristics of COVID-19 in Seoul.
Methods: The descriptive and explanatory analysis was carried out on critical indicators such as epidemiological characteristics and key duration of patient status change from January 24 to May 2 in Seoul before and after preemptive testing for patients under investigation associated with COVID-19 clusters.
Results: Preemptive testing increased the positive test rate (3.9% to 4.2%), an asymptomatic case at diagnosis (16.9% to 30.6%), and reduced the time from symptom onset to quarantine (4.0 to 3.0 days). Prompt tracing decreased unknown sources of infection (6.9% to 2.8%), the mean number of contacts (32.2 to 23.6), and the time-varying reproduction number R(t) (1.3 to 0.6). With proper treatment, only 2 cases of mortality occurred, resulting in a fatality rate of just 0.3%.
Conclusion: In the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic lasting 100 days, the effect of the 3T strategies flattened the curve and decreased the time during which infected individuals were contagious, thereby lowering the R(t) below 1 in Seoul.
Keywords: COVID-19; Korea; Outbreak; Response; SARS-CoV-2; Seoul.