How drive-through testing has limited coronavirus contagion in South Korea (VIDEO)

Korea set up drive-through test stations, an approach not available in the United States yet. These stations were installed in strategic points in Seoul and other major cities, and as of Saturday, March 21, South Korea had tested more than 248,000 people and identified 8,086 cases.

So far, 72 have died, or 0.9% of those infected. Compare that with the Chinese province of Hubei, where the coronavirus first emerged. With no forewarning, the fatality rate for the province currently stands at about 4.5%.

In contrast, to the United States, which tested a few thousand people in the weeks when health experts say the outbreak was spreading across this country, could not be more stark.

Instead of using the template approved by the World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention set out to create its own test from scratch, only to see that effort plagued by delay and dysfunction that continues to this day.

The United State’s inability to know who is infected has broad implications. It means that infected people have wandered through offices, buses, restaurants, emergency rooms and shopping malls, indiscriminately spreading the virus.

While in Mexico, the situation is even worse