Cabinet approves emergency funds to contain spread of coronavirus

SEJONG, Feb. 18 (Yonhap) -- The Cabinet approved emergency funds of 104.1 billion won (US$87.9 million) on Tuesday to help contain the spread of the new coronavirus in South Korea, officials said.

South Korea reported another case of the novel coronavirus on Monday, bringing the total number of infections to 30, with the latest two cases judged to be the result of community spread unlinked to known clusters of the COVID-19 virus.

According to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, 20.3 billion won will be used to increase the number of staff and equipment for quarantine and testing.

Another 31.3 billion won will be used for people who are quarantined, the ministry said.

Officials said 2.7 billion won will be used to support Korean nationals in the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the new coronavirus.

China said more than 70,000 people have been infected and over 1,700 have died in mainland China.

kdh@yna.co.kr
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