NEWS BRIEF

[Anchor Lead]

The U.S. State Department has expressed gratitude to the South Korean government for providing two million protective face masks. The State Department's Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs posted a thank-you message on Twitter on May 11 local time.
Marking International Nurses Day, Prime Minister Chung Se-kyun posted a message on Facebook expressing gratitude and respect to the nation's nurses for their dedication and courage in fighting COVID-19. The prime minister also wished a fast recovery to the nurses who have contracted the virus while taking care of patients as well as those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Buses operating in the city of Seoul will be allowed to open windows while running air conditioning this summer to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The Seoul Metropolitan Government says if the bus windows are kept closed while the AC is on, the risk of infection increases for passengers, as some passengers do not wear face masks when taking buses.
The Global Task Force for Public Media, an international joint response team for fighting COVID-19, has been officially launched. It consists of eight major state-run broadcasters from around the world, including KBS of South Korea, BBC of the U.K. and ZDF of Germany. The heads of the broadcasting companies held their first video conference on Monday to discuss cooperation in fighting the pandemic.