As demand for coronavirus testing soars across South Korea, health authorities at the epicentre of the country's outbreak are running "drive-thru" testing facilities.
Seo Wan-seok, vice director of the Yeungnam University Medical Centre that runs one of the "drive-thru" testing facilities in Daegu, said that this new type of testing prevents close contact between patients, which could in turn also prevent further transmission of the virus.
Medical workers in protective suits were seen collecting samples from drivers queuing up at the Yeungnam University Medical Centre "drive-thru" screening centre on Tuesday (March 3).
"I don't have to come into contact with anyone else since I am staying inside the car.
That's why I came here," said Daegu resident Cha In-ho.
As of Wednesday (March 4) South Korea reported 5,328 cases of the flu-like disease and 32 deaths in the worst epidemic of any nation outside China.
In Daegu, 2,300 people were waiting to be admitted to hospitals and temporary medical facilities, Vice Health Minister Kim Gang-lip said.
The virus which originated in China late last year began to spread rapidly in South Korea after it entered the congregation of a Christian sect in Daegu city, the Shincheonji Church of Jesus.
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