Gov't to designate Daegu, North Gyeongsang as special disaster zone

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun, center, visits a traditional market in Daegu, Friday. / Yonhap

Charter flight to evacuate Koreans from Iran

By Kang Seung-woo

The government is looking to designate coronavirus-hit Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province as a special disaster zone, the prime minister said Friday, a move that will expedite the administration's support to the affected areas and their residents.

The southeastern city of Daegu and the neighboring province are Korea's COVID-19 hot spots, with their number of confirmed cases reaching 7,075 as of Friday, making up the majority of the country's total of 7,979 infections since its first detection Jan. 20, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).

If designated, it will be the first special disaster zone to be made so due to an infectious disease. Previous designations have been mainly made for natural disasters.

“Relevant procedures are underway in relation to the declaration of Daegu and the province as special disaster zones,” Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said during a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters, held at Daegu City Hall.

“As soon as the procedure is finalized, I will make a formal suggestion to President Moon Jae-in for the declaration.”

Chung, who has led the government's fight against the deadly epidemic while staying in the city since Feb. 25, added that he had already discussed the issue with Moon.

The move comes one day after Daegu Mayor Kwon Young-jin and North Gyeongsang Province Governor Lee Cheol-woo visited the National Assembly, and asked Speaker Moon Hee-sang and floor leaders of the ruling and main opposition parties to help the government take the measure.

The regions has already been named a “special care zone” for stronger quarantine measures.

If declared a special disaster zone, even stronger state-level administrative and financial support is provided, including tax benefits and cuts in utility bills for residents and businesses.

Meanwhile, the prime minister said the coronavirus epidemic seems to be stabilizing there, adding the most critical moment may have passed.

“The number of new cases is slowing, while the number of those who have recovered from the virus is increasing,” Chung said.

Meanwhile, the government is seeking to arrange a charter flight to bring Korean nationals stranded in Iran back home as the Middle Eastern nation struggles with a sharp rise in coronavirus infections there. As of Friday, the number of coronavirus cases in Iran stood at 10,075 ― the third-highest behind China and Italy.

According to the foreign ministry, it nearly 100 among 220 Korean citizens resident in Iran wanted to return to Korea.

Due to the international sanctions against Iran, the government is seeking to arrange a flight from a third country, instead of sending an aircraft from a flagship carrier directly. This means the residents will have to take a flight from Tehran to a designated third country at their own expense before transferring to a government-chartered flight.

They will undergo coronavirus tests upon arrival in Korea, and those with symptoms of the virus will be quarantined for about 14 days as were other repatriated Koreans.

Previously, the government dispatched three charter planes to the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the virus outbreak, in January and February to retrieve more than 850 Koreans. Another plane was sent to bring six Koreans and a Japanese spouse from aboard the cruise ship Diamond Princess, which was quarantined off the coast of Japan last month.