Suwon Mayor Yeom Tae-young: "Rapid Antigen Testing Should Be Introduced for All Citizens"

[Suwonilbo=Reporter Seo Dong-young] Suwon Mayor Yeom Tae-young proposed to the government, “Let's introduce COVID-19 rapid antigen testing for all citizens.”

Mayor Yeom, who is a Supreme Council member of the Democratic Party of Korea, said at the party's 51st Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 21st, “At a time of unprecedented crisis like now, what matters most is the speed of testing,” and requested the government to “actively review ways to conduct rapid diagnostic testing more broadly, more quickly, and simultaneously.”

Mayor Yeom emphasized, “We must identify infected people in the shortest possible time and isolate them or send them to hospitals or residential treatment facilities to block contact with non-infected people,” and, “Screening clinics should be set up down to the neighborhood (dong) level, and all medical institutions such as public health centers, hospitals, and clinics should be permitted to conduct rapid testing.” He added, “If necessary, we should even boldly consider a 'self-testing method' in which citizens test themselves.”

Mayor Yeom explained the effectiveness of rapid antigen testing for all citizens by citing the case of Slovakia. Slovakia, with a population of about 5.46 million, had about 5.27 million people undergo COVID-19 diagnostic testing, of which 50,466 cases tested 'positive.' It is reported that, while conducting nationwide rapid antigen testing, the growth rate in the number of confirmed cases decreased by up to 82% within two weeks.

Mayor Yeom said, “The government should support rapid testing by swiftly revising the relevant guidelines needed for emergency response,” and, “If it is necessary to verify the limitations and efficiency of nationwide rapid testing, I hope the government will designate a few local governments that wish to implement rapid antigen testing as pilot regions and verify the effects.”

He concluded his remarks by saying, “Now we can overcome the current crisis only by responding to COVID-19 in a new and bold way, different from before,” and, “I urge the government and quarantine authorities to make a decision.”

Meanwhile, Suwon City introduced 'rapid antigen testing' for the first time in the nation on the 11th, using a 'rapid antigen test kit' produced by SD Biosensor, a company located within the city.

Suwon City and SD Biosensor signed a 'business agreement for a joint response to COVID-19' on the 10th, and SD Biosensor donated 10,000 rapid antigen test kits to Suwon City. The rapid antigen test kit is a product that can quickly determine COVID-19 infection within 15 minutes.

The city is conducting rapid antigen testing on residents and workers at facilities vulnerable to infection, such as nursing hospitals and psychiatric hospitals, as well as workers at temporary screening stations. At temporary screening stations, PCR (nasopharyngeal swab gene amplification test) testing is the rule, but those for whom PCR testing is difficult or who need rapid testing undergo rapid antigen testing.