For more information, such as their path of movement, please visit our website.” The site includes their area of residence and where they are currently hospitalised, along with where they have been and at what time.Īs one text message alert from the Jongno-gu government reads: “A 15th foreigner in Jongno-gu staying at the Somerset Palace Hotel in Seoul has tested positive. The government overseeing Jongno-gu – a district in Seoul with a population of nearly 158,000 – compiles an anonymous list of patients on their website. South Korea sees slight decline in new coronavirus cases (1:55) The text alerts are sent out at the discretion of regional governments and specifically target people in those areas, giving them an opportunity to avoid locations where active cases have been found.
At least 200 people have died of the disease. But if we all, for example, are staying at home and taking these messages seriously, then this influences everyone else.” Steady stream of alertsĪt least 10,384 people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in South Korea as of April 8, but more than half have already been cured. “Also, if the people around me don’t care, then maybe I don’t think I have to follow. If someone thinks COVID-19 is not life-threatening, they may not be as compliant as others,” Wencui Han, an assistant professor of business administration at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. “Text messages definitely would be effective at least in getting people to know about the situation, but the next question is compliance. In other words, how people respond to text messages with government advice reflects not only their personal beliefs but societal and cultural pressures. Swift action and free or affordable mass-testing have been South Korea’s most effective weapons in countering the virus
“We tend to look at all disasters as the same but a small storm is very different from an active shooter situation, which is very different from a building fire.” The impact of the messaging is actually based on one’s perception of the threat,” Sharman said. “When it comes to emergency notifications, how people comply really varies by the context. According to his research, the effectiveness of text message alerts depends on the type of emergency at hand. Raj Sharman, a professor at the University of Buffalo’s Management Science and Systems Department, studies the relationship between disaster mitigation and technology. “Now, I know which areas to avoid and I do feel like the government is doing a good job at keeping me informed.” Signs of fatigueīut as the outbreak drags on and the messages continue to buzz on phones around the country in unison, people are showing signs of fatigue. “I’ve been getting these messages maybe six, seven or even 10 times a day,” Cho TW, a university student, told Al Jazeera.
INSIDE STORY: How to overcome obstacles to widespread coronavirus testing? (24:45) People get the messages automatically and are not allowed to opt out. Moreover, any person with a smartphone in South Korea – almost the entire population, given that nine out of 10 South Koreans have one – gets location-based emergency messages that alert them when they are near a confirmed case of the novel coronavirus, also known as COVID-19. Routes taken by infected patients are published online regularly, while incoming travellers are required to report their symptoms daily on an app that they have to download on arrival at the airport. But South Korea has also turned to technology for help. Swift action and free or affordable mass-testing have been the country’s most effective weapons in countering the virus. Once the largest outbreak outside of China, South Korea has now managed to push the number of cases confirmed each day to around 50. Seoul, South Korea – South Korea has earned international plaudits for tracking and containing the coronavirus since reporting its first case back in February.
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