Indonesia announces 'temporary' closure of Embassy in Seoul as Coronavirus spreads

The Indonesian Ambassador to South Korea Umar Hadi recently announced that its Embassy in Seoul and the Indonesian Investment Promotion Centre (IIPC), also located in Seoul will temporarily suspend operations after a confirmed case of COVID-19 was reported in an area nearby.

The closure is 'temporary'

The Indonesian Embassy and the IIPC are locaters near Yeouido which is Seoul's main investment and financial district. It was in this area that an employee of the state-run Export-Import Bank of Korea was confirmed to be infected with the coronavirus on February 27.

According to reports, the Indonesian Ambassador to the Republic of Korea Umar Hadi claimed that the closure of the Embassy and the IIPC was only temporary and that extra measures are being taken to ensure that the embassy complex and IIPC office is disinfected.

Read: South Korea Reports 813 New Coronavirus Cases, Total Reaches 3,150

Read: South Korea Wages 'all-out Responses' To Virus With 586 New Cases

Conditions in South Korea Worsen

South Korea has reportedly announced 813 new cases of the novel coronavirus on February 29, bringing the total cases to 3,150 and with four new fatalities. The country also reported its first case of reinfection from COVID-19, Health Committee officials said.

The health officials reportedly said that a 73-year-old woman tested positive for the COVID-19 the second time after she recovered and was released from the hospital the previous week. Korea Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said that the woman’s declining immune system is the reason behind the reoccurrence of the disease.

Read: Coronavirus: South Korea's Vice Health Minister Claims More Cases Possible In Daegu

Read: South Korea Virus Cases Surge As WHO Sounds Maximum Alert

According to Korea Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), more than 90 per cent of the confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus originated in Daegu City in the North Gyeongsang province, the epicentre of the virus outbreak in South Korea. The death toll in the country has climbed to a shocking 17 and is expected to spike with the ongoing screening of more than 2,60,000 people associated with Shincheonji Church of Jesus.

(with inputs from agencies)