Over 3,000 Chinese Tourists Expected to Visit Chungnam... Emergency Response Duty for Coronavirus Maintained

[Asia Economy (Naepo) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Chungnam Province is operating its own emergency response team to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus ahead of a large-scale visit by Chinese group tourists to the region.

According to the province on the 24th, approximately 3,000 Chinese group tourists are expected to visit the Chungnam area by next month. These tourists mainly reside in Shandong Province, Shanghai, and Jilin Province, which are confirmed to be far from the Wuhan area.

However, the province judged that it cannot completely rule out the possibility that the novel coronavirus has spread throughout China, so from the 24th to the 27th during the Lunar New Year holiday, it will organize and operate its own emergency response team within the Provincial Office's Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau.

The emergency response team consists of 17 officials from the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau, who will continuously monitor the spread of the novel coronavirus and establish a cooperative system with the central government and related departments to prepare for any possible situation.

In addition, the province plans to convey the precautions related to the novel coronavirus outbreak announced by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to travel agencies such as tourism associations, and to urge tourists to be cautious.

Gil Young-sik, Director of the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau of the province, said, “We will respond thoroughly to prevent the novel coronavirus from entering the Chungnam region,” and added, “We will cooperate and respond with the relevant cities, counties, and departments when Chinese tourists visit the region to prepare for any emergency.”