S. Korea sends emergency supplies to flu-hit Mexico

By Lee Chi-dong
SEOUL, April 30 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will send medication and medical kits to
residents in Mexico, where a swine flu epidemic is rapidly spreading, the foreign
ministry said Thursday.
"The shipment will arrive there on May 2," ministry spokesman Moon Tae-young said
in a press briefing, adding the materials will be stockpiled for emergency use.
More than 13,000 South Koreans live in the Latin American nation.
The shipment includes 2,000 Tamiflu tablets and 10,000 face masks.
The South Korean Embassy in Mexico has taken a number of steps to prevent South
Korean residents from being infected with the flu, including temporary closure of
South Korean schools there, added Moon.
The pandemic has killed over 150 people in Mexico alone, though no South Korean
victim has been reported.
A 51-year-old South Korean woman, who flew into Seoul from Mexico earlier this
week, has been quarantined for treatment after she was classified as the nation's
first "probable" case of swine flu. Health authorities here are also examining
four other suspected cases.
The ministry has formed a working-level task force headed by Lee Joon-gyu, its
ambassador for consular affairs.
"The team will hold a daily meeting to review the situation until it is brought
under control," Moon said.
lcd@yna.co.kr
(END)