Online map shows crowds at Seoul's Covid testing sites

The Smart Seoul Map shows the level of crowds at Covid-19 testing sites in Seoul. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

It's now easy to check the crush at Covid-19 testing sites in Seoul before going to get tested.

The Seoul city government added a feature showing the congestion at some 80 Covid-19 testing sites on the city’s official digital map “The Smart Seoul Map.” (https://map.seoul.go.kr/smgis2/short/6NjT7).

The updated version of map breaks down crowd sizes into three categories: normal, busy and crowded.

Testing sites with waiting times of less than 30 minutes are shown as "normal" (green), of around 60 minutes as "busy" (yellow) and 90 minutes or more as "crowded" (red). The status is updated every hour.

People are also able to see which testing sites are closed for the day or preparing to open.

The function was added on Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon’s instruction to develop a mobile application that can reduce waiting times at Covid-19 testing sites. Oh visited a testing center in Yongsan District, central Seoul, last Friday and it was crowded.

Due to the recent surge in Covid-19 cases in Seoul and surrounding neighboring areas, people have been forced to wait hours in line to get a Covid-19 test.

Recently, a public health center in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, ran out of swabs and closed three hours earlier than usual after people flocked there to get tested. They were spooked by a cluster that broke out in Hyundai Department Store’s Coex branch.

Mayor Oh shared a link to the map on social media Monday, and explained that the feature was made available on the browser-based digital map, for people who are unable to use smartphone apps.

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]