Regional cooperation helps open doors

Sharp rises of 500 or more in the number of new daily infections were reported as the government conducted thorough tests on all the group's followers. At the peak, more than 900 cases were confirmed, according to the KCDC.

But in less than two weeks, the number of new cases each day in South Korea fell to 100 or below.

The country has recorded around 100 or fewer daily new infections for more than three weeks. On Thursday, it reported only 39 new cases, bringing the total to 10,423, according to the KCDC. The mortality rate stood at 1.96 percent, up from previous days but still lower than the 3.4 percent average released by the World Health Organization.

Wang said he was impressed by the quick response taken by the South Korean authorities, especially with the focus on clearing confirmed cases, stringent quarantine measures and comprehensive testing.

He said some of the measures were similar to those adopted in China, including a makeshift medical facility set up in Daegu.

Wang also said South Korea had devised its own methods to control and prevent COVID-19.

"Since Feb 19, about 10,000 people a day have received tests for the novel coronavirus. The country has also devised many innovative ways to detect the virus, such as a drive-through test that can be completed within 10 minutes without the person being tested having to leave his or her car."

As of midnight on Tuesday, 494,711 people had been tested in South Korea, according to the KCDC.

John Linton, director of the International Health Care Center at Yonsei University's Severance Hospital in South Korea, noted the many achievements the country has made in the fight against COVID-19. He said a key reason for such progress was the experience gained during the outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, or MERS, in 2015.

" (Back then), several hospitals had terrible transmission rates, so in the containment of MERS, there were a lot of practices (that have proven effective)," Linton said, pointing to the importance of avoiding cluster infections within hospitals.