DAEGU, South Korea, March 6 (Xinhua) -- A long line of passenger vehicles was standing just outside the Yeungnam University Medical Center in Daegu, the epicenter of South Korea's COVID-19 outbreak, on Wednesday.

Drivers, waiting alongside temporary steel container facilities, did not get out of their cars but rolled down windows low enough for medical staff in white protective gear to take saliva samples from their nose and mouth.

The medical center had the so-called "Drive-Thru" virus-testing station, where it takes about 10 minutes to test for the COVID-19 compared to at least half an hour required for the testing at conventional testing facilities.

The government recommended setting up the Drive-Thru testing stations across the country to help detect potential patients early and speedily.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="900"] Medical workers of hospital of Kyungpook National University transfer a patient in Daegu, South Korea, March 4, 2020. (Photo by Lee Sang-ho/Xinhua)-KOREA OUT-[/caption]

As of Thursday afternoon, the country's infected patients topped 6,000. Of the total, about 90 percent was residents in Daegu, some 300 km southeast of the capital Seoul, and its surrounding North Gyeongsang province.

Except 31 cases, all the infections were confirmed for the past two weeks. The speedy diagnosis brought the fatality rate below 1 percent.

Despite the speedy test on those with symptoms, the rapid-fire outbreak in recent days was unable to accommodate all the confirmed patients because of the lack of hospital beds in Daegu, a metropolis with a 2.5 million population.

Several infected elders in Daegu passed away while waiting to be admitted to hospitals for treatment.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="900"] A patient infected with the COVID-19 receives medical treatment in hospital of Kyungpook National University in Daegu, South Korea, March 4, 2020. (Photo by Lee Sang-ho/Xinhua)-KOREA OUT-[/caption]

"Young people clearly developed fever and cough, making it easy to diagnose the virus. But, in case of old people, many of them especially with underlying diseases were hard to find whether to be infected because they developed no specific symptom for long," said Lee Mi-jin, a retired doctor who volunteered to treat patients at the Kyungpook National University Hospital in Daegu.

Hundreds of volunteer doctors and nurses rushed to Daegu from around the nation, while the military commissioned scores of nurse officers earlier than scheduled to help combat the COVID-19 in the southeastern region. Military trucks regularly sprayed the roads with liquid disinfectants.

President Moon Jae-in of South Korea visited the military nurse academy earlier this week, expressing his sorry and gratitude for the sacrifice of the newly-commissioned nurse officers.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="900"] South Korean President Moon Jae-in (R, front) communicates with a local medical worker in Daegu, South Korea, Feb. 25, 2020. (NEWSIS/Handout via Xinhua)[/caption]

Moon emphasized "speed" in tacking the COVID-19 outbreak. The government announced a supplementary budget of 11.7 trillion won (9.8 billion U.S. dollars) Wednesday, and over 75 percent of the budget would be spent for the next two months.

Many of nurse officers were seen at the Keimyung University Daegu Dongsan Hospital, which was designated as a base hospital to treat COVID-19 patients in Daegu.

"We usually have no time to eat meal. Sometimes, we eat only a piece of toasted bread for lunch," said one of the volunteer medical staff in her 40s at the hospital. The volunteer medics have struggled with chronic fatigue and the lack of sleep, she noted.

Economic activity in Daegu slowed, although it did not come to a complete halt. The city's largest Seomun Market, right in front of the hospital, has been closed for about a week.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="900"] Staff members disinfect at Seomun market in Daegu, South Korea, Feb. 23, 2020. (NEWSIS/Handout via Xinhua)[/caption]

"It is the first time that the Seomun Market has been closed since its opening. The market had been opened even during the war," said a Daegu citizen in his 50s.

Some of restaurants lowered meal price to attract customers, while others began to food delivery services as people refrained from going outside.

Fewer people were found in the usually crowded downtown areas of Daegu, and the city turned quieter and darker as shops and restaurants recently ended businesses earlier than usual.

A long line of people can only be found in front of shops or the post office that sell facial masks.■