Response to Peer Post (3)
Response to Peer Post
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Response to Peer Post
After reading your response, I would like to state a few points regarding your concerns regarding your answers. First and foremost, I maintain that you are not wrong when you say that contact tracing has its negative and positive sides. I agree with you that cultural orientations play a key role in determining the success of the contact tracing exercise in Korea. On a positive note, the Koreans have realized the indispensable need for contact tracing in limiting and curtailing the spread of infections even as they uphold their cultures. This has given the government an easy time in its comprehensive strategy of locating and testing contacts and fumigating areas where they have been. Also, the Korean citizenry is keenly observing the social distancing rules and mask-wearing directives, although the government is set to relax the social distancing in the coming months, thereby shifting from the stringent social distancing campaign (Han-Soo, 2020; Kim, 2020).
On the negative side, I agree with you that this exercise has been seen as an invasion of people’s personal privacy. This is especially among the LGBT community. A recent article by Strother (2020) confirms this by noting that the aggressive contact tracing initiative in Korea has been criticized for subjecting members of the LGBTQ community under strict surveillance, making them feel maltreated. I agree with your arguments concerning understanding cultural differences when dealing with contact tracing and social distancing campaigns that limit the coronavirus spread. I also concur with you about Korea’s transparency in the reporting of contact tracing, which has been pivotal in the disease control and prevention. I have noted that transparency, openness, and democratic approaches to controlling the infections have been valuable in flattening the COVID-19 curve in Korea. So, I see nothing wrong with your answers.
References
Kim, S. (May 06, 2020). S. Korea shifts from ‘social distancing’ to ‘distancing in daily life’. TBS eFM News. Retrieved May 23, 2020, from http://tbs.seoul.kr/eFm/newsView.do?typ_800=P&idx_800=3386432&seq_800=.
Han-Soo L. (May 04, 2020). Korea to loosen social-distancing scheme. Korea Biomedical Review. Retrieved May 23, 2020, from http://www.koreabiomed.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=8127.
Strother J. (2020). South Korea’s coronavirus contact tracing puts LGBTQ community under surveillance, critics say. The World. Retrieved May 23, 2020, from https://www.pri.org/stories/2020-05-22/south-korea-s-coronavirus-contact-tracing-puts-lgbtq-community-under-surveillance.
