Ministry of Employment Urgently Provides 800,000 Masks to Workers of Small Businesses and SMEs

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] The Ministry of Employment and Labor will urgently provide 800,000 masks starting from the 25th to small business owners and small and medium-sized manufacturers who are having difficulty securing masks due to the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

Earlier, at the expanded Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters meeting chaired by the Prime Minister on the 21st, it was decided to provide rapid support for the Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions at the whole-government level. Accordingly, 130,000 masks (16%) out of the total 800,000 masks have been distributed urgently starting from the 21st to the Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions.

The mask support targets workplaces employing foreign workers such as Chinese nationals, construction sites, service industries with frequent customer contact, and public institutions mainly engaged in public service for vulnerable groups.

Additionally, masks will be provided to ▲ port workplaces where contact with foreigners is possible due to the arrival of foreign ships and cruise ships, ▲ domestic small and medium-sized enterprises with business sites in China requiring urgent quarantine measures, and ▲ lodging workers in the Icheon, Jincheon, and Asan areas who provided temporary residences for Wuhan residents.

To prevent and contain the spread of COVID-19, the Ministry plans to closely cooperate with government agencies such as the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries to ensure that the urgently supplied masks are quickly distributed to the most vulnerable sites in need.

Park Young-man, Director of the Industrial Accident Prevention and Compensation Policy Bureau, said, "We hope that the 1.52 million masks provided in two rounds will help prevent infections among small business owners, small and medium manufacturers, and workers in the Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions who are struggling to secure masks."

He added, "We urge each workplace to comply with the 'Workplace Response Guidelines for COVID-19 Prevention and Containment,' which the Ministry of Employment and Labor regularly updates, and to make efforts to prevent infections within the workplace."