Find out about 'screening labs, local hospitals, and pharmacies' before PCR

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As you saw earlier, nationwide, from the day after tomorrow (29th), if you are under 50 years of age or have no symptoms, you must first undergo a rapid antigen test before PCR test.

The rapid antigen test can be received at a local hospital such as a screening test center or a respiratory clinic, and you can test it yourself at home. 

Reporter Jeong Da-eun will tell you what the differences are by location.

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This is the first case of going to a screening laboratory.

Receive a rapid antigen test kit from the laboratory staff and collect a sample by inserting a cotton swab into the nose while the manager is watching.

You only need to insert it about 1.5 cm inside the nostril.

After that, put it in the test solution and wait for the result, and the result will come out in 15 to 30 minutes.

It is free of charge, and if you test positive here, you will receive a PCR test directly at the screening center.

The following are local hospitals such as respiratory clinics.

It is limited to respiratory clinics designated by the government on the website of the Ministry of Health and Welfare and local hospitals that have participated in diagnostic tests.

Medical staff use professional rapid antigen test kits.

The sample is collected by piercing it deeper into the examiner's nostrils.

So it's a bit more accurate than a screening lab kit.

The examination is free, but you have to pay a fee of 5,000 won.

If you test positive, you will need to undergo PCR testing at the clinic or nearby screening laboratory.

Finally, you can buy a self-test kit at a pharmacy and have an examiner test it at home.

The price of the kit is about 8,000 won to 16,000 won, and if the test is positive, you can take the kit to the screening clinic and submit it for PCR test.

For those who have not been vaccinated, if they have been tested at a screening clinic or respiratory clinic, they can receive a negative confirmation with the test date and negative result and use it as a quarantine pass within 24 hours.

However, in the case of self-test at home, even if it is negative, it is not recognized as a quarantine pass.