South Korea's drive-through testing for coronavirus

The situation in Stockholm, Sweden right now is:<p>“You who have symptoms similar to coronavirus will not be tested in the future. This applies regardless of whether you have been in the areas that were previously exposed to infection or had close contact with someone you know is ill in covid-19.”<p>There are no test kits. Hospitals have run out of face masks. And it’s only just getting started here.

This is striking: &quot;A nation of 51 million, South Korea has tested about 250,000 people since its outbreak began on Jan. 20, with a daily capacity of 15,000. It has conducted 3,600 tests per million people compared to five per million in the U.S.&quot;

<i>The</i> questions to ask for any test:<p>- What is the false positive rate?<p>- What is the false negative rate?<p>- Considering the above, what is the efficacy of mass testing?<p>(Not saying it is or isn&#x27;t effective, hard numbers are necessary)

I don&#x27;t have the link but I read Seegene is providing about 80% of the coronavirus test kits used in Korea currently.<p>1. CNN article (March 12, 2020) on Seegene <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.cnn.com&#x2F;2020&#x2F;03&#x2F;12&#x2F;asia&#x2F;coronavirus-south-korea-testing-intl-hnk&#x2F;index.html" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.cnn.com&#x2F;2020&#x2F;03&#x2F;12&#x2F;asia&#x2F;coronavirus-south-korea-...</a><p>The CNN text article is actually pretty good article and also the video is good. The company reports they used AI to speed up the development. They were able to accomplish it in 2 - 3 weeks with a few people instead of 2 - 3 months with many more staffers getting involved.<p>From the CNN article<p><i>The firm is making about 10,000 kits a week and each kit can test 100 patients. So it is making enough to test one million patients each week, at a cost of under $20 per test.</i><p>Seegene is now looking to export of the excess capacity to 30 countries including Germany and Italy.<p>2. Below is 2017 video of a mini-seminar of Seegene&#x27;s solution platform at a trade show. <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=RKL5D19r6t8" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=RKL5D19r6t8</a><p>The last part shows that they have a software solution for helping faster diagnosis.<p>As a layman, I felt Seegene&#x27;s product focus is on getting as many tests done as possible by using following: - One test vial can test multiple issues - Integrating barcode&#x2F;software to allow faster diagnosis<p>3. I frankly don&#x27;t understand why FDA can&#x27;t approve Seegene&#x27;s product into US. It&#x27;s not like people will be injected with liquid&#x2F;medicine.

Korea gear approach:<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;media.npr.org&#x2F;assets&#x2F;img&#x2F;2020&#x2F;03&#x2F;13&#x2F;gettyimages-1205553157_custom-5c12d569a8ea0724b74b972034ad3ba5b62557e7-s1200-c85.jpg" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;media.npr.org&#x2F;assets&#x2F;img&#x2F;2020&#x2F;03&#x2F;13&#x2F;gettyimages-1205...</a><p>Europe (and likely USA)<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;static01.nyt.com&#x2F;images&#x2F;2020&#x2F;03&#x2F;12&#x2F;upshot&#x2F;12up-healthcovid&#x2F;merlin_170345880_ab07006f-7c0f-49c4-938d-f6850badf9a9-jumbo.jpg" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;static01.nyt.com&#x2F;images&#x2F;2020&#x2F;03&#x2F;12&#x2F;upshot&#x2F;12up-healt...</a><p>Leaning into the car with facemask down. Should end well.

I wonder if Walmart completely thought out what is going to happen when they turn their parking lots into drive-up testing, implying that every sick person with a fever is going to be in a Walmart parking lot soon.

Will Korea sell us tests?<p>Will anyone? Has this been discussed anywhere?

I just finished listening to a veteran virologist give a 2 hour interview. It’s being blown way out of proportion. Nobody under the age of 9 has died, period. Under the age of 30 your mortality probability is vanishingly small. It’s only a threat to people who have a compromised immune system because of age, diabetes or something like that. This is nothing like the Spanish flu. Unlike influenza viruses, these viruses don’t mutate in a way that would cause their recurrence every year. The chances of a more deadly strain popping up are extremely small.<p>I listened to trump address the nation in the rose garden live today. The npr correspondent confidently said that this virus “isn’t going away.” It’s a flat out lie and hysteria.