| President Moon Jae-in, right, greets Cardinal Andrew Yeom Soo-jung, archbishop of Seoul, ahead of a lunch meeting with Catholic leaders at Cheong Wa Dae, Aug. 20. The president and the guests all showed up wearing masks for protection against the COVID-19./Yonhap |
The South Korean presidential office was set to start running in around-the-clock contingency mode starting Friday to better counter the spiking coronavirus cases in the greater Seoul area.
"Cheong Wa Dae has (decided) to operate a contingency system in the face of a severe new coronavirus situation," Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kang Min-seok said in a written press briefing.
Under the plan, Presidential Chief of Staff Noh Young-min will preside over an emergency response meeting every morning.
The presidential office plans to monitor the nationwide situation and relevant departments will run weekend and night shifts, according to Cheong Wa Dae.
The shift comes in line with a surge in new coronavirus infections in the greater Seoul area. The country has reported some 1,900 new cases in the past eight days. (Yonhap)