Moon makes on-site health inspection

President Moon visits a public health center in Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap

By Do Je-hae

President Moon Jae-in set out to assuage the mounting public fears over the new coronavirus epidemic during a visit to a medical facility in Seoul, Wednesday. It was the second time for the President to embark on an on-site inspection of virus preparedness following the first one to the National Medical Center on Jan. 28.

Moon visited a public health center in Seongdong-gu with Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon. The center was chosen for its history of effectively dealing with viral public health scares since the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) epidemic in 2015, according to the presidential office. Following the MERS outbreak, it established a negative pressure room, which is used to treat a patient while preventing infection, becoming the only public health center in Seoul having such a facility.

The President underlined the importance of public health centers in overcoming the epidemic and reassuring the public. “In the future, we will prepare a stronger national response system for epidemics. But right now, we need to focus on containing further spreading. The public health centers and local governments are urged to do everything they can to stop the infections and protect its residents.”

He expressed concerns over possible shortages of quarantine personnel in case the epidemic prolongs, placing additional pressure on quarantine officers. Seoul Mayor Park said the city government is considering temporarily recruiting additional qualified nursing staff.

During the visit, Moon showed particular interest regarding how the authorities would manage the return of Chinese students as well as Chinese-Koreans headed to Korea for work. Many Korean universities have faced concerns about what to do with Chinese students coming back to Korea for the new semester that begins next month.

Later in the day, the education ministry recommended universities postpone the start of the new semester for up to four weeks. It also asked all students and professors ― either Koreans or foreign nationals ― not to come to schools for 14 days if they have recently returned from Hubei Province in China, the epicenter of the new coronavirus epidemic.

Amid the rising concerns about the entry of Chinese nationals, Cheong Wa Dae and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) held an emergency meeting at the National Assembly earlier in the day on response to the coronavirus.

While calls are growing from the public and opposition parties to expand the entry ban, which has been imposed on people travelling from Hubei Province, to other parts of China, the government remains cautious. “We will closely watch the situation not just in Hubei Province but adjacent regions and undertake necessary measures under close cooperation between Korea and China,” Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said.

During the meeting, officials discussed emergency measures to minimize economic damage from the coronavirus on the export and tourism industries as well as small business owners.