Regional cooperation helps open doors

Kim said the IVI is working in different ways to promote international collaboration in the field, including developing an international standard laboratory vaccine effectiveness evaluation platform and assisting companies in testing and analyzing the effects of the vaccine.

On March 13, the first videoconference was held on a joint prevention and control mechanism established by China and South Korea on coping with COVID-19.

A week later, a special videoconference on the disease was held by the foreign ministers of China, South Korea and Japan, during which the three countries agreed to jointly contribute to the global fight against the pandemic, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

"Sharing information is always helpful," Linton said, adding that multilateral cooperation will be conducive for countering the pandemic.

Wang said the outbreak is a chance for the three East Asian countries to promote cooperation in non-conventional security fields, such as major regional public health incidents and climate mitigation.

"The close cooperation of China, South Korea and Japan in the battle against the pandemic demonstrates the increased cohesion among the three countries and the enhanced awareness of building a community of shared destiny in the region," Wang said.

Linton said he is cautiously optimistic about the situation in South Korea as the government works to contain the virus. He thinks the outbreak in the country will end by the summer, but not before. "We've got a long wait," he said.

In addition to preventing cluster infections amid a rising number of imported cases, on April 1, South Korea began enforcing a two-week mandatory quarantine period for all arrivals from overseas, regardless of their nationality.

Yonhap quoted Yoon Tae-ho, a senior health ministry official, as saying that temporary shelters that can house up to 1,000 travelers have been prepared, enabling visitors to stay safe as they await test results.

Hong, the coronamap.live developer, has posted a message on the site asking for volunteers to help with translation.

Although the number of cases in South Korea has dropped significantly, he is still busy upgrading the system, which takes longer than updating routes of confirmed cases.

"There are 5 to 20 routes for each patient. ... When I first started, it took me a while just to upload one patient's route, but now it's about 10 times quicker, as I have tried to automate most of the work. I have also been adding a lot of features," Hong said.

"I just wanted everyone living in South Korea, including foreigners, to be aware of the coronavirus situation, so that they can have a better understanding of how to prevent it from spreading."