SEOUL, South Korea — It took Thomas Streetman two hours to walk out his front door, take a cab to the public health center, get tested for the coronavirus and make it back to his apartment.

The 32-year-old Ohio native — who had a slight fever — was greeted with blue tents scattered across a surprisingly barren street. Medical staff clad head-to-toe in hazmat suits conducted screenings as another fogged the sidewalk with disinfectant spray.

“It was almost militaristic,” said Streetman, who has lived in the South Korean capital for almost a decade. “They stuck a long swab up my nose pretty deep. It felt like a button poked my nerves and released my sinuses.”