TAXI: COVID-19 CARRYING CIVIC HEROES

(Average daily new infection at 162 over past two weeks. COVID-19 situation tops threshold for Level 2 Social Distancing. There were approximately 10 newly confirmed patients in non-capital areas on the 15th, the figures are hiking to 76 within a week.)

Oh dear! The crisis seemed to be ending but it’s starting all over again.

Hello.

Q. How did they ask you to transport the recovered patients?
Cho Yeong-taek (64/Taxi driver): When there was a shortage of vehicles to transport them, Daegu City Hall contacted trusted taxi drivers

Q. How did they contact you?
I got a call and a text. You’re doing a great job. Please pick up 3 recovered patients at the hospital and return to Daegu.

Q. How many recovered patients did you transport each day?
I transported one to three people a day. One lady said her husband had been infected because of her. She was weeping that her husband was in a critical condition. (when she’d been discharged)

Q. Were you worried you’d be infected?
I was slightly anxious. During the time I was transporting recovered patients, I couldn’t have meals with my wife. I couldn't meet my grandson. I had to spend time alone.

(Hello.)
Welcome. Where to?
(Dongdaegu Station.)
Sure.

Are you a student?
(That’s right. Third year of middle school.)
3rd year of middle school? Where are you headed when COVID-19 infections are spreading?
(I developed an app called ‘Corona Now’ which provides information on COVID-19 in Korea and abroad. I have some work related to that item in Cheonan, so I’m heading there.)
Oh, that's very important information. You did a very good thing.
(Thank you.)

Q. How did you learn programming?
Choi Hyeong-bin (16/Developer of ‘Corona Now’): ‘Corona Now’ was designed in a way that doesn’t require a high level of programming skills or specialized knowledge. My friend and I were able to develop the app by looking up things online.

Q. What was it like in Daegu when COVID-19 peaked?
In March and April when the pandemic spiked in Daegu, it was very quiet and desolate. I think that’s the best way to describe the situation. There were no people in sight nor cars on the streets. It was desolate. When the situation was at its peak.

Q. What led you to develop ‘Corona Now’?
When I developed ‘Corona Now’, there wasn’t much information about COVID-19. I became determined to stop fake news and ungrounded rumors spreading on social media. After gathering the precise status of the spread and other information, I thought it would be great to compile this on one platform.

Q. 'Corona Now’: role-during the COVID-19 outbreak
As ‘Corona Now’ provides diverse, trustworthy information in one place, there’s no need to be worried. Also, it raises the level of alertness. We added a feature that predicts infection figures for the following day. Users say this helps them be more vigilant.

Business has been slow… Did you pick up some passengers today?
(Shin Dong-shik (63/Taxi driver): Not many. These are difficult times. I’m really worried because of COVID-19. Because there are hundreds of newly confirmed patients everyday in Seoul.)
Daegu had a couple of infection cases too. We need to be vigilant. There’s a growing number of customers but it's worrying as infection cases are on the rise again.
(I hope business picks up.)
See you again.

(Hello.)
Welcome.
(Angol-gil, please.)
Sure.
A lot of shops have closed.
(Yes. I run a business too and it’s tough.)
What kind of business is it?
(A restaurant.)
I see. Are things improving these days?
(It got better but because infection cases in Seoul are rising, I’m worried it might get worse again. It’s tough for you too, isn’t it?)
Yes. It must be very tough for taxi drivers. Yes. I’ve lost a third of my usual passengers. It’s hard. Still. How long could the virus go on. COVID-19 should go away some day, right? Let’s hang in there and do our best.
(Yes. Thank you.)
Good-bye.
(Thanks! Hang in there!)

Q. Challenges for business owners
Cho Shin-yeong (33/Restaurant owner): It was difficult when the pandemic peaked in Daegu in February. Since then, we’ve seen great recovery. But it’s worrying as Seoul is seeing infection cases spike again.

Q. How did you overcome the most difficult times?
Due to COVID-19, We had to close for a month. It was tough when we re-opened but things got better when the government handed out emergency relief funds. We had more customers than we did before COVID-19. So we were able to overcome the crisis.

Q. Why did you come to the hospital today?
I got a call from the hospital so I’m waiting for the passenger.

(Hello.)
Welcome. I’m taking you to Gyesan 5-way, right?
(Yes.)
Do you work at Dongsan Hospital?
(Yes. I work in the facilities team. I deal with medical waste disposal, quarantine and disinfection.)
Hat’s off to you.
(It’s no big deal.)
We have a hero on board. You must be worried because there are more infections in Seoul.
(These days, we see on TV that COVID-19 patients are on the rise. There’s a great shortage of medical practitioners or quarantine staff… As the situation in Daegu improved, our hospital was no longer a designated facility for infectious diseases. If COVID-19 patients are transferred to our hospital again, it’s going to be difficult working with insufficient staff. That’s what I'm most concerned about.)
I hope that doesn’t happen in the future.
(That’s right. We can’t have rising COVID-19 cases. I'm quite worried about such a scenario. Thank you.)
No worries. Good-bye.

Q. How did Daegu Dongsan Hospital manage quarantine?
Lee Seong-wuk (40/Member of Daegu Dongsan Hospital’s Facilities Team): We rolled out quarantine measures in the order of units that were filled with patients. We were disinfecting the wards we had but as the number of COVID-19 patients soared, we started utilizing an old wing that had been out of use. Our hospital opened last year. We hurriedly converted the building that the professors had been using as a lab into a ward. We supported efforts to set up electricity, cleaning and quarantine. It nearly took the whole day.

Q. Any requests you would like to make as a quarantine specialist?
There are many requests the central and local government is making to the public about COVID-19. I hope the public complies with them. The pandemic is not yet over. We don't know how long it will last.

Lee Seong-wuk (40/Member of Daegu Dongsan Hospital’s Facilities Team): With that sense of alertness, I hope they wear masks no matter what, and thoroughly practice good personal hygiene.

Choi Hyeong-bin (16/Developer of ‘Corona Now’): I hope they thoroughly practice good personal hygiene.

Cho Shin-yeong (33/Restaurant owner): By strictly complying with social distancing protocol, I hope we can overcome COVID-19 together.

Cho Yeong-taek (64/Taxi driver): Most people are complying with the measures, but some stay negligent, thinking one or two slipups won’t have a major impact. I sincerely hope such people change their attitude and strictly practice precautionary measures, so that we can overcome COVID-19.