Seoul-LA-Beijing, Global Cities Collaborate on 'COVID-19 Response'

'CAC Global Summit 2020' Day 3, Quarantine Sector Session Held as Audience-Free Video Conference
Discussion on International City Cooperation, Solidarity, and Joint Response Measures

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] The Seoul Metropolitan Government will hold a quarantine session on the third day of the 'CAC (Cities Against Covid-19) Global Summit 2020' as a no-audience video conference to mutually share COVID-19 quarantine response cases with cities around the world.

The quarantine session held on the afternoon of the 3rd will be attended by quarantine officials from major global cities such as LA (USA), Rotterdam (Netherlands), and Beijing (China), who will introduce the COVID-19 outbreak status and response cases in each city. From Seoul, Na Baek-ju, Director of the Citizen Health Bureau, will present Seoul's current status and response.

In particular, Seoul will focus on introducing four core strategies for COVID-19 response in the presentation: 'Speed and Transparency,' 'Cooperation and Solidarity,' 'Innovation and Creativity,' and 'Citizen Participation.' It will also present future supplementary tasks for infectious disease response and the vision of 'Seoul as a Global Standard City for Infectious Disease Response.'

Panelists include Professor Carles Bonnet from the Department of Health at Toronto, Canada, Research Professor Tak Sang-woo from the Seoul National University Institute of Health and Environment, and Professor Jung Hye-joo from the College of Health Sciences at Korea University. They will discuss the importance of international intercity cooperation and solidarity for infectious disease response such as COVID-19, and the future direction of quarantine that global cities should take.

This event will be broadcast live in Korean and English (simultaneous interpretation) through the official Seoul Metropolitan Government YouTube channel and will also be aired via Arirang TV, a global satellite broadcaster with 138 million viewers in 105 countries worldwide. The live broadcast can be watched anytime afterward through the replay service.

Na Baek-ju, Quarantine Controller of the Seoul Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (Director of the Citizen Health Bureau), said, "Through this quarantine session, we expect to share excellent infectious disease response cases among international cities, which will be very helpful not only for COVID-19 but also for future emerging infectious disease responses." He added, "In this era of global hyperconnectivity, Seoul will continue to strengthen international intercity cooperation and solidarity for infectious disease response with the belief that 'urgent fires must be put out together.'"