US Ambassador to Korea Harris: "Korea's COVID-19 Response Measures Very Impressive" (Comprehensive)

Meeting with Vice Foreign Minister Cho Se-young at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Building
Vice Minister Cho: "Entering a new phase of COVID-19, the two countries must cooperate more closely"

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] "South Korea's response measures to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) are very impressive."

Harry Harris, the U.S. Ambassador to South Korea, stated this on the afternoon of the 4th when he met Cho Se-young, the First Vice Foreign Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building. He said, "I believe South Korea is leading the world's response to the coronavirus," and added, "It is very impressive that comprehensive measures and quarantines are being implemented step-by-step to prevent the spread of COVID-19." The two greeted each other by bumping elbows instead of shaking hands as a preventive measure against COVID-19.

In response, Vice Minister Cho emphasized, "As confirmed COVID-19 cases rapidly increase in South Korea, we have entered a new phase, and therefore, the two countries should cooperate more closely to overcome COVID-19." Ambassador Harris replied, "Coordination between the two countries is very important, and only then can good results be achieved." Ambassador Harris arrived in Korea on the 3rd after attending a meeting of heads of diplomatic missions held in the United States.

An official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained, "Both sides discussed the trends of COVID-19 occurrences and the South Korean government's response measures, and requested that the U.S. government continue to maintain trust in South Korea's quarantine measures and capabilities."

Furthermore, "Vice Minister Cho said that South Korea and the U.S. should continue to maintain a cooperative system to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and to ensure that personal exchanges between the two peoples are not seriously affected," adding, "Regarding this, Ambassador Harris said he would continue to trust the South Korean government's active and comprehensive efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19."

Earlier, the United States raised its travel advisory for South Korea to Level 3, 'Reconsider Travel,' and for Daegu specifically to the highest Level 4, 'Do Not Travel.' Subsequently, the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) decided to implement mandatory fever screening and COVID-19 symptom questionnaires for all passengers boarding flights to the United States starting from the 5th. The fever threshold is set at 38 degrees Celsius.

Additionally, U.S. President Donald Trump stated on the 3rd (local time) that he is monitoring South Korea, Italy, and Japan regarding additional measures such as travel bans due to the spread of COVID-19.

Meanwhile, Ambassador Harris shared the content of his meeting with Vice Minister Cho on Twitter, mentioning, "I am confident in the South Korean government's strong and comprehensive efforts to prevent the spread of the virus."

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