ASSISTING DAEGU IN FIGHTING COVID-19

[Anchor Lead]

Fire authorities have deployed around 100 ambulances to Daegu and surrounding Gyeongsangbuk-do Province to help with the transport of coronavirus patients. The military is also assisting local governments in quarantine efforts while the police are tracking down people who need to be tested for COVID-19 but whose whereabouts are unknown.

[Pkg]

Dozens of ambulances are lined up in a row. More ambulances arrive and the vehicles are thoroughly disinfected. They have come from fire stations all across the country. Regional fire authorities provided 36 ambulances to Daegu and Gyeongsangbuk-do Province last month and have now sent 81 more. The move is to help the transport of COVID-19 patients. It's the first time for fire officials to issue a mobilization order over concerns of a contagious disease.

[Soundbite] KIM YEONG-SEOK(DAEGU FIRE & SAFETY DEPARTMENT) : "We are carrying patients to hospitals and other treatment centers."

Meanwhile soldiers are also busy on the quarantine front. They are seen here wearing protective suits and sterilizing narrow alleyways and old residential towns. Churches are also sprayed with disinfectants as many religious sites are currently closing their doors. Heat detection cameras are also set up at bus terminals to monitor passengers. Together with the military, the Seoul Metropolitan Government carried out emergency quarantine operations in four towns and at 25 religious facilities on Tuesday. Disinfection vehicles owned by the military were also mobilized.

[Soundbite] KIM HYO-SEUNG(LIEUTENANT COLONEL, ARMY 56TH DIVISION) : "We are exerting preemptive prevention efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19. All available military personnel and medical equipment are being mobilized for a full-on state-level response."

Meanwhile the police have tracked down more than 56-hundred individuals whose whereabouts were earlier unknown. They need to be tested for possible infection. The police launched a rapid response team to locate 300 others who are still unaccounted for.