South Korea is moving to test pneumonia patients for COVID-19 to check whether the potentially deadly virus has spread across the country.
The government on Sunday decided to run coronavirus tests on pneumonia patients whose cause of disease remains unknown.
Those who have suspected symptoms without records of overseas travel will also be subject to the move in a bid to discover infections as soon as possible.
The decision came Sunday after the country reported its 29th case of the novel coronavirus.
The 29th patient, an 82-year-old man who had no record of overseas travel or contact with other virus-confirmed patients, was identified after doctors decided to run coronavirus tests when he was found to have pneumonia.
To better deal with the novel coronavirus, the KCDC earlier said it was considering a move to incorporate the COVID-19 screening into its overall influenza checks to try and prevent infections from slipping past its quarantine and monitoring systems.■
<Photo: Yonhap News>
