An office worker in Miami, the U.S., had a fever and cough after returning a business trip from China, so he had a COVID-19 examination just in case. Fortunately, he’s got negative, and two weeks later, a 3,270-dollar bill flew in. He is a private health insurance subscriber and has to pay about $1,400 for the inspection.
If he was in Korea, he could get a free examination. He has a history of visiting China and symptoms of respiratory problems, so he is subject to 100 percent examination. These days, all you need is a doctor’s opinion, even if you don’t have a record of visiting China. If it is not subject to free inspection, only pay 160,000 won(about $120), but if confirmed, it will be refunded 100%. The Korean government will also pay for full medical treatment. The same applies to foreigners’ inspection and medical expenses.
The U.S. is basically under its own pressure, and its standards of inspection are strict. They should have symptoms such as fever after visiting China or after contact with infected people. When a woman who had never been to China was confirmed in California recently, US government expanded the list of people who visited South Korea, Japan, Italy and Iran on 27 February.
Japan also has strict standards for free tests. It is only possible if there is a history of close contact with people who have been to China or other countries, or those who have come into contact with a confirmed person, have determined that it is necessary. There is no personal burden test at all. The Japanese government said early next month that it would set up a system for self-examination, but the cost remains undecided.
Differences in the standard of the inspection result in differences in the number of tests. In Korea, 105,379 cases were examined until 02 March and 4,212 confirmed cases were found.
The U.S. has 84 confirmed cases out of 472 tests, and Japan has 257 confirmed cases out of 2,058 testes (excluding cruise ship passengers).
Comparing the confirmation rate, Korea has the lowest rate of 2.96 percent, the United States has 3.14 percent and Japan has a whopping 9.03 percent. Some even say that the rapid increase in the number of patients in Korea is due to the fast search.
