NOVEL CORONAVIRUS SITUATION IN SOUTH KOREA
Date: Seoul, 24 February 2020
As of today, the spread of the novel coronavirus continues to grow in South Korea. Fortunately, the major source of the outbreak has been identified at an early stage in Daegu and its surrounding province Gyeongsan Bukdo. These counts for more than half of the infections.
The Korean government is working round the clock to minimize the damage and deemed the coming 10-15 days as the most crucial in fighting of the spread of the virus. President Moon raised the country’s alert level to the highest for the first time in a decade, which empowered the government to lock down cities, bar visitors from China and unilaterally restrict the movement of people. Schools holidays have been suspended for at least one week, mass meetings, demonstrations and most sports events have been banned.
Shincheonji Church in Daegu
In the city of Daegu (250 km southwest from Seoul, 2.5 million inhabitants) the vast majority of cases has been linked to members of the Shincheonji Church. Most members that attended certain masses in the Daegu church have been tracked down and put into isolation. All properties belonging to this church has been closed down and disinfected by the government.
Travel advice
The South-Korean government has designated Daegu and Cheongdo cities as “special care zones”, and advices all but essential travel to these areas. Please refer to the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of your country and/or your embassy in Seoul, who are in close contact with the South Korean government.
KR Hospitality & Events
In order to minimize the risk for our staff, we have ordered all staff to work from their house as of today. Our new CRM system, implemented in 2018, tremendously facilitates this way of working, as the whole system is cloud based, and equipped with maximum communication and sharing facilities.
Measures to be taken when in South-Korea
Always wear a mask;
Wash your hands thoroughly;
Do not rub your eyes, ears and mouth with unwashed hands;
Avoid going to public places with many people;
Avoid contact with sick people
We ask for your patience and understanding for this situation. We will get back to you if there are important changes within the upcoming days and do not hesitate to contact me directly should you have any questions!
With kind regards,
Don Roelofs (박동식) Director KR Hospitality & Events