HEALTH-MERS/SOUTH KOREA-BUSINESS South Korean companies set up heat-detecting cameras amid MERS outbreak

Record ID: 150956

  • Title: HEALTH-MERS/SOUTH KOREA-BUSINESS South Korean companies set up heat-detecting cameras amid MERS outbreak
  • Date: 12th June 2015
  • Summary: SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (JUNE 12, 2015) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF LG CORPORATION SOUTH KOREAN PEOPLE WALKING ON STREET WOMAN WEARING FACE MASK WALKING BUSINESSMEN WALKING IN REVOLVING DOOR VARIOUS OF BUSINESSMEN WALKING IN LOBBY BUSINESSMEN PASSING HEAT-DETECTING CAMERA HEAT-DETECTING CAMERA IN OPERATION (SOUNDBITE) (Korean) COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER OF LG CORPORATION, TERRY LEE, SAYI
  • Embargoed: 27th June 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA3G39O2ZB1D1QMUUYEWIPCZ5EN
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Many South Korean companies have set up heat-detecting cameras at their entrances to monitor the temperatures of employees and customers, as the number of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) continues to rise in the country.
    Employees of LG Corporation had their body temperatures checked on Friday (June 12) at the company's lobby.
    "We set up six heat-detecting cameras to let employees focus on their work and not worry about MERS," said Terry Lee, LG Corporation's Communications Manager of LG Corporation.
    The measure was considered a welcome relief in the face of the health threat.
    "MERS has not yet spread in the local community, but I am still anxious about its transmission. However, with this heat-detecting camera, I feel less pressure and can focus on working," said Lee Gyu-han, an employee of LG Corporation.
    Woori Bank, one of the largest bank in South Korea, also set up heat-detection cameras to help prevent the spread of MERS between employees and customers.
    "There is possibility of the wide spreading of MERS once it occurs (in our company). We set up heat-detecting cameras and put hand sanitizers to secure the safety of employees and customers as well. It seems that customers are relieved and feel safe," said Choi Won-seo, the Public Relations Manager at Woori Bank.
    South Korea's Health Ministry reported on Friday four new cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) bringing the total to 126, the world's largest outbreak outside Saudi Arabia.
    Ten people who tested positive for the MERS virus have died, although all had serious pre-existing ailments.
    First identified in humans in 2012, MERS is caused by a coronavirus from the same family as the one that triggered China's deadly 2003 outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). There is no cure or vaccine.
    South Korea's new cases bring the total number of MERS cases globally to 1,271 based on WHO data, with at least 448 related deaths. The country has the second highest number of cases after Saudi Arabia, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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