East London woman in South Korea talks about how they are winning the virus war

Twenty-Three-year-old Victoria Briggs, an East Londoner and former Clarendon pupil who is currently teaching English in South Korea, says: “It all feels quite normal here.”

“There is not that sense of living in fear, not that much panic,” says Briggs, who lives in Gwangju, South Korea.

The democratic South Korea is a world leader in containing Covid-19 deaths — 211 fatalities confirmed out of 10,480 infections — by rapidly prioritising mass testing and tracing infected individuals, among other measures.

Even now, as society returns to normal, Briggs gets one or two “emergency alerts” a day on her cellphone about suspected or new cases.

The alerts give the date and timeline of where the infected individuals have been in the city. Then anyone who may have been in contact with them can go and be tested.

“It is particular to each city and very impressive,” said Briggs, who uses an app to translate the Korean into English.

“The emergency alert is sent to all cellphones, no matter where you are or what phone company you are with.”

“We don’t have any sort of lockdown or quarantine at the moment,” said Briggs of Gwangju.

“When I arrived in mid-February, the streets were quiet, but I didn’t have anything to compare them to. Now they seem busier and the restaurants are as busy as always.”

Most public schools are still closed but Briggs is teaching full hours at the private English academy that employed her. “It’s up to parents if they want to send their kids to the school and the majority are sending them.

“When I arrived, the virus was spreading but wasn’t bad yet. South Korea hardly had any cases. I had been here for about a week when there was a sudden outbreak, the cases just started.”

Early on, South Korea had the second-most cases after China, where the coronavirus pandemic started.

In South Korea, as in other parts of Asia, wearing face masks to combat pollution is common.

“Most people here wear masks. Now they are taking it more seriously and making sure their kids are wearing masks,” said Briggs.

“Still, some kids don’t, and they are not strict on it. You don’t get a fine if you don’t wear a mask,” she said, describing the citizens as “rule-abiding”.

“I’m in a smaller city [about a million people and the sixth-biggest in South Korea] and luckily there are not that many cases where I am.”

Briggs had to get a medical check to get a foreign residency card when she arrived.

“At first we were not allowed to enter the hospital because they were worried about foreigners, but I was able to do it a few weeks later.

“I have not personally seen testing but, in most public buildings, whenever you walk in there are thermal cameras to test your temperature and there is always hand sanitiser.

“Hand sanitiser is everywhere, whenever you need it.”

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