The Embassy of the Republic of Korea has made a major donation to South Africa's efforts to fight the Covid-19 pandemic through the donation of 35,000 masks and 1.2 tons of disinfectant, with Covid-19 detection test kits still to come.
Minister Counsellor Bong-kyu Choi from the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Pretoria delivered the face masks and disinfectant worth R 650,000 to Lebo Lebese at the South African Department of Health on Wednesday. The donation is to help local medical staff, soldiers and police officers to work more safely. A generous allocation of 5,000 face masks were delivered directly from the Korean Embassy to South African Korean War Veterans and their families.
This is part of a commitment made by South Korean President Moon Jae-in during a telephone conversation he had with President Cyril Ramaphosa on April 24th to support countries that participated in the Korean War on the South Korean side. This is in addition to the donation by Samsung Electronics Co of South Korea of 10, 000 diagnostic kits to the SA Medical Research Council on July 18th in celebration of Nelson Mandela.
The antivirus disinfectant was donated by Korean companies in South Africa such as GP&E which also donated one ton of G.SOL to Ethiopia and Indonesia respectively. G.SOL is a long-lasting surface disinfectant that lasts for three to six months, unlike other alcohol-based disinfectants that lose
their sterilization power by being volatile. G.SOL destroys 99.9 per cent of various viruses, such as MERS, SARS Coronavirus, Swine
Influenza virus, as well as Covid-19. G.SOL has proven its effectiveness in a test performed by an internationally accredited testing and certification body recognized by the Food and Drug Administration of eliminating more than 99.99 per cent of the influenza virus and MERS coronavirus.
Furthermore, the Government of the Republic of Korea has arranged the donation of 17,000 detection test kits and 50,000 face masks (with a
total value of approximately US$300,000) and is waiting for an official handover to the Government of South Africa.
IOL