South Korea will be ready to protect its athletes' health and safety at the Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics as various organizations have teamed up to provide a secure sporting environment.
South Korea will first concentrate on defending its athletes from the Zika virus, which the World Health Organization has declared an international public health emergency. Brazil is believed to be the country hit hardest by Zika.
The mosquito-borne virus is almost always non-life threatening, causing only mild symptoms like fevers, joint and muscle pain, headaches and bloodshot eyes. However, it can cause microcephaly in unborn children, a debilitating condition of a baby being born with an abnormally small head and brain.
There is currently no vaccine to prevent the disease or drug to treat it, causing South Korea to tell its athletes to avoid mosquito bites. South Korean athletes who have already visited Brazil for international competitions have expressed that mosquitoes are a concern.
"I had a lot of stress because of mosquitoes," said three-time Olympic shooting champion Jin Jong-oh after competing in men's 50-meter pistol at the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup in Rio, which also serves as an Olympic test event, last Tuesday. "I think the Rio Olympics will be a fight against mosquitoes."
To tackle the problem, South Korean team uniforms at the Rio Games will be long-sleeved shirts and pants to minimize skin exposure despite the multi-sport event being staged under the hot sun of Brazil from Aug. 5-21. According to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the uniform is also made out of special medicated cleansing fibers with insect repellent effects.
The ministry said that the uniform will be unveiled to the public on Wednesday at an event that celebrates the 100-day countdown to the Rio Games.
The ministry added that not only the team uniform and its podium uniform, but also athletes' everyday wear during the Rio Games will be long sleeves and long pants. However, their sports outfits and jerseys could be short-sleeved shirts and shorts regarding rules in each discipline and functionality problems.
The government will also supply skin-applied mosquito repellents to all athletes, so that they can protect themselves.
Though prevention is the priority, South Korea is also preparing measures for the possibility of its athletes contracting Zika during the Rio Games.
To check its precautions and countermeasure plans, the government already dispatched a joint inspection team to Rio from April 11 to 18. The 10-member team was comprised of experts from the sports ministry, foreign affairs ministry, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Korean Olympic Committee.
The inspection unit said it is important to have a fast check-up process when there is a suspected Zika virus-infected athlete. The team said it checked to see if two hospitals -- Vitoria Hospital and Samaritano Hospital -- that were selected by the Rio Olympics organizing committee had enough capabilities to conduct primary diagnoses and treat the Zika virus.
The government said it will provide sanitary and health education to athletes starting in June, when the South Korean squad for the Rio Games gets in shape. It will also distribute guidelines not only on the Zika virus but also swine flu, which has also been threatening public health in Brazil recently.
The government said it will try to make sure every athlete gets a vaccination against diseases like yellow fever, typhoid, hepatitis A and malaria.
To ensure better treatment of athletes, the South Korean delegation for the Rio Games will dispatch 10 medical staff members for health care. Previously, South Korea mainly formed its medical teams with physiatrists and physical therapists, but this time the country will send doctors, nurses and virus experts.
South Korea will also put its best effort forward to protect players from crime and terror attacks. The Brazilian intelligence agency recently revealed that terror threats for the Rio Olympics are rising, led by the Islamic State (ISIS) and other extremist groups.
The government said that its joint inspection team last week already checked and discussed with Brazilian authorities the security plans for the Summer Games. The South Korean inspection team included officials from the Terror Information Integration Center, which is a counterterrorism unit under the National Intelligence Service.
The government said that all South Korean athletes will receive personal safety education before going to the Rio Games. The sports ministry said it will make safety handbooks for the South Korean delegation, based on the guidelines from the Rio Olympics organizers.
The safety instructions will include information like "move in a group, not alone, when going on tours," and "do not resist and put personal safety first when being robbed."
The South Korean consulate in Brazil is in Sao Paulo but to help South Koreans efficiently, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will set up a temporary consulate office in Rio de Janeiro during the Olympics.
"We are having a cooperative system not only between local agencies but also with Brazilian authorities so that we can protect athletes' health and safety at the Olympics," said Song Yoon-seog, the director of the international sports division at the sports ministry who was also the leader of the inspection team. "We will come up with measures for safety and support our delegation to have good performance, while promoting South Korean culture and tourism." (Yonhap)