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\"I definitely respect their earnestness and transparency,\" tweeted Dr. Eric Feigl-Ding, an epidemiologist at Boston's Harvard Chan School of Public Health.

+140 cases overnight in South Korea, now by far the top #SARSCoV2 epidemic country outside China. But at least they are catching them all with their 20k lab 🧪 test runs, which I definitely respect their earnestness and transparency. #COVID19Korea #covid19 https://t.co/qd6VQYXjD9

— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) February 22, 2020

\"Very detailed COVID-19 reporting ... demonstrating a significant diagnostic capability,\" tweeted Dr. Scott Gottlieb of Washington, D.C.'s American Enterprise Institute.

Very detailed #covid19 reporting from South Korean health officials. They have tested, or are awaiting results on, almost 20,000 individuals; demonstrating a significant diagnostic capability. They appear to have a current testing capacity of more than 3,000 cases a day. pic.twitter.com/iH9yRRFPtF

— Scott Gottlieb, MD (@ScottGottliebMD) February 22, 2020

A big reason for South Korea's success is how quickly they were able to get test kits ready, Ellerin said.

\"One thing China did was that [after] the first case came in November, activity began in late December and by January 10th China shared the sequence with the public and they already had test kits on that day.\"

Officials say the rapid implementation was possible because the South Korean government was able to shorten the process for the newly developed test kits to be approved by its version of the Food and Drug Administration.

\"It would normally take about a year to get a test kit approved, but FDA gave out emergency approval to acceptable applicants on a temporary basis,\" Park told ABC News.

For the testing itself, medical institutions, spread out across local communities, follow detailed instructions provided by the central health authorities and screen applicants with suspicious respiratory symptoms. The meticulous process takes from half an hour to an hour per person.

\"It just takes a lot of time because the tester has to change suits to a new one every time,\" said Park.

\"All medical teams dispose of their quarantine suits and inspection tools by using it just once, and new medical tools are used for each patient, every time,\" an official with Samsung Medical Center, one of the largest testing centers in Seoul, told ABC News.

As number of tests continues to stack up, several locations have set up \"drive-thru\" centers that could minimize contact between the potential patient and medical staff. This new idea shortens time spent on testing to just 10 minutes per person since the medics do not have to change quarantine suits for every patient.

Applicants must drive to the site in their privately owned vehicles wearing masks. Tests are conducted at a makeshift tent outside of buildings to prevent spreading indoors.

\"PHOTO:
Yonhap/AFP via Getty Images
PHOTO: Medical staff take samples from passengers with suspected symptoms of the COVID-19 coronavirus at a drive-through screening clinic of a hospital in Daegu on Feb. 27, 2020.
>

\"When I got there, someone opened the car door for me,\" Koo Ji-young told ABC News after receiving his test results for a $140 fee. \"First, they take a chest X-ray, then measure body temperature using a noncontact measuring device. A doctor stuck a long stick into my nose and made me spit phlegm.\"

The government has called for more volunteer nurses and doctors to help meet the rising demand for tests.

\"As of [Wednesday] morning, 205 people have registered to volunteer. We still need more,\" Health Vice Minister Kim Gang-lip said during a media briefing.

In Daegu, where 80 percent of all confirmed cases have been reported, 28,000 residents who have reported symptoms of flu or cold will be tested by the end of the month, officials said. Authorities have also pledged to test more than 200,000 followers of a secretive sect at the center of the recent outbreak.

Ellerin, the infectious disease director, said the massive amount of testing also creates valuable data.

\"This is a contagious respiratory virus,\" said Ellerin. \"For instance, during flu season, roughly ten percent get affected. With South Korea's 55 million population, you could easily imagine 5 million getting this.\"

\"Sometimes we tend to overestimate,\" he said. \"So let's see where this leads to.\"

ABC News' Hakyung Kate Lee, Heejin Kang and Jiyung Koo contributed to this report.

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