Reporter's notebook Gov't officials do opposite of social distancing
Senior presidential secretary for policy Kim Sang-jo, right, speaks to Bank of Korea Governor Lee Ju-yeol without covering his nose ahead of an emergency economic meeting at Cheong Wa Dae, Thursday. / Yonhap
By Jun Ji-hye
Government officials are supposed to take the initiative and set an example for members of the public being urged to follow social distancing guidelines to slow the spread of COVID-19.
But some high-ranking officials, including senior presidential secretary for policy Kim Sang-jo and those from the Ministry of Health and Welfare, have appeared to do exactly the opposite.
As a result of this, eight officials from the health ministry have gone into self-quarantine for two weeks after they had close contact with a person who was later diagnosed with the coronavirus, raising concerns over interruption of operations of the public health control tower.
The guidelines call for canceling gatherings and keeping a distance between individuals by, for example, wearing face masks and not shaking hands, as a precautionary measure against the spread of the new coronavirus.
Kim, who participated in an emergency economic meeting at Cheong Wa Dae, Thursday, was photographed while talking face to face with Bank of Korea Governor Lee Ju-yeol at a very close distance.
Both of them were wearing face masks, but Kim did not cover his nose.
Health experts say wearing face masks without covering the nose is nearly the same as not wearing the masks as the virus can enter the body via the nostrils very easily.
Health and Welfare Minister Park Neung-hoo presided over a meeting with heads of 18 higher-level general hospitals, March 12, to ask for cooperation from the hospitals in the fight against COVID-19.
But the minister, who was not wearing a face mask, shook hands with the participants one by one.
Vice Health Minister Kim Gang-lip also held a meeting the following day with the heads of general hospitals and other health-related officials. Among the participants was Lee Yeong-sang, president of the Bundang Jesaeng Hospital, who tested positive for COVID-19, March 18.
This forced eight health ministry officials including the vice minister to go into self-isolation for 14 days from March 18.
“If they show any symptoms, they need to go through diagnostic tests. If they do not show symptoms, they will be cleared from self-isolation on March 28,” Yoon Tae-ho, a senior health ministry official who is in charge of containment measures, said during a briefing.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun strongly called on citizens to maintain social distancing, warning that the government will issue an administrative order to ban gatherings.
But the actions of government officials seem to give a different message.
Photos of politicians published in the media can give the wrong signal to citizens. This is why they should behave more cautiously, as dictated by commonsense.