S. Korea to host online seminar for South American nations on virus responses

SEOUL, April 19 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will host an online seminar for several South American countries early next week to share its experience and know-how in tackling the coronavirus, Seoul's foreign ministry said Sunday.

The video presentation is the second of its kind to take place following a similar one held earlier this month. The last session was attended by health officials and medical experts from 13 countries including the United States, Mexico and Italy.

Next week's video seminar, slated for Tuesday, is expected to bring together about 240 doctors and health officials from Chile, Uruguay and others, the foreign ministry said in a press release.

Such online presentations come as an increasing number of foreign countries has been seeking to benchmark various quarantine steps South Korea has taken to stem the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Seoul has recently earned global recognition for its swift response system, including much-publicized drive-thru testing and advanced diagnostic kits. Many countries, including the U.S., have purchased Korean-made test kits amid the continuing rise in infection cases.

South Korea reported 18 new infection cases on Saturday, the lowest daily increase in about two months, with the total infections at 10,653 and 232 deaths.

elly@yna.co.kr
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