President Moon: "Novel Coronavirus, Critical Juncture... Proactive Response"

President Moon Jae-in is presiding over a senior secretaries and aides meeting at the Blue House on the afternoon of the 3rd. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Son Sun-hee] President Moon Jae-in said on the 3rd regarding the spreading novel coronavirus infection (Wuhan pneumonia), "The government recognizes that this is a critical turning point and will respond with extraordinary determination," adding, "The crisis alert level will remain at the current caution stage, but actual responses will be proactively carried out as if at the severe stage."

President Moon held a senior secretaries and aides meeting at the Blue House in the afternoon and stated in his opening remarks, "The situation may just be beginning. We still do not know how much more it will spread or when it will end." He also emphasized, "We will activate a pan-governmental all-out response system led by the Prime Minister and take strong measures to block regional spread."

President Moon urged, "To prevent the spread of infection, we must mobilize all capabilities to ensure there are no small holes in the quarantine network," and added, "Thorough epidemiological investigations and tracking management must be conducted to block secondary and tertiary infections."

He further said, "We must actively respond to factors causing public anxiety," and requested, "Please pay special attention to strengthening quarantine measures at facilities used by children such as daycare centers, kindergartens, and schools, as well as at multi-use facilities."

President Moon also stated, "There are concerns about cases overseas where asymptomatic individuals were confirmed positive and the possibility of transmission by asymptomatic carriers," and said, "We will consider even the smallest possibility and expand the scope of management as much as possible." He continued, "I ask that the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lead efforts to gather the capabilities of infectious disease-related academic societies and the medical community, and establish a solid cooperative system between the central government and local governments."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.