A medical staff member in protective gear prepares to take samples from a visitor at a 'drive-thru' testing center for the novel coronavirus disease of COVID-19 in Yeungnam University Medical Center in Daegu, South Korea on March 3. (REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon)
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In response to an appeal from President Trump, South Korea is set to deliver 600,000 coronavirus testing kits to the U.S. on Tuesday, according to a new report.
The testing kits will arrive in the U.S. aboard a U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency cargo plane that is slated to leave Seoul Tuesday night, Reuters reported exclusively.
Trump made the request in a telephone call with President Moon Jae-in on March 25, as the U.S. was grappling with fast-growing coronavirus outbreaks in many states, Reuters reported.
CORONAVIRUS TESTING KITS TO BE PROVIDED BY SOUTH KOREA AFTER TRUMP CALL
South Korea’s foreign minister Kang Kyung-wha confirmed the Reuters report in an interview on French news channel France 24, saying contracts have been signed and the shipments will be “ready any time soon.”
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The first shipments will be handed over to and paid for by the U.S. government, a Seoul official speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue told Reuters.
“We’ve moved as quickly as possible to get necessary clearances given the urgency of the situation there,” the South Korean official said.
An additional package of kits that can conduct as many as 150,000 tests will be exported soon after and will be sold through an unspecified local retailer, the official told the news wire.
Osang Healthcare is providing 300,000 test kits, Reuters reported. Another company is providing the other 300,000.
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South Korea was the first country outside China to confront a large coronavirus outbreak, but with massive testing and intensive contact tracing brought it largely under control without major disruptions.