US Lacking In Coronavirus (COVID-19) Testing Compared To South Korea

On the other side of the world, an Oklahoma woman living in South Korea said that country’s reaction to COVID-19 has been vastly different America’s.

South Korea was one of the first countries hit hard by COVID-19 after the outbreak in China.

Emma Kalka moved to Seoul from Oklahoma 12 years ago and is a journalist there. She said once the virus made it to their country, South Korean officials immediately took action.

“The government was quick to react, open, transparent and quick, and that's helped save a lot of the panic," Kalka said.

Kalka said the key was that the government had thousands of tests available to anyone who called a hotline to tell them their symptoms. She said they direct patients to the nearest hospital for drive-through testing and get results in just a few hours.

“They get your address and inform you of the closest testing site near you very quickly," she said.

The South Korean CDC said the country has administered more than 300,000 tests for their population of 50 million.

By comparison, the COVID Tracking Project said the U.S. has only administered about 100,000 tests for our population of about 330 million.

Tulsa Health officials, like many across the U.S., say they have a very minimal number of tests and that you must get doctor's permission before you can get tested.

“We’re very mindful that it can spread very rapidly," Kalka said.

She said the government gave everyone masks and recommended social distancing but didn’t require any place to shut down.

“We didn't have instances like in the states where people are buying out stores and shelves are empty," Kalka said.

South Korea reported only 150 new cases Thursday compared to about 900 new cases at the end of February. Kalka said she’s back to work after 2 weeks of working from home.

She wants to remind Oklahomans to be mindful, but not panic.

“Hopefully we’re coming out on the other side of it.”

Vice President Mike Pence promised on Sunday the government is working to administer thousands of more COVID-19 tests.