US President Donald Trump has sought urgent help from South Korea in the coronavirus fight, saying the US will assist Korean firms get approvals. South Korea told the US that they will send necessary medical equipment and supplies.
Shares of Korean companies engaged in manufacture of testing kits skyrocketed after the news broke out.
The US has faced criticism over its approach to the novel coronavirus fight. South Korea has taken a totally different path compared to several other countries and has been successful in taming the virus. The US and South Korea discovered the first coronavirus case on the same day.
South Korean battle against coronavirus
Since the Covid-19 outbreak in the country, South Korean authorities have launched measures for widespread testing, helping combat the pandemic to a large extent. The country slowed the Covid-19 spread to below 100 in the past 13 days, and managed to limit deaths to 125.
Compared to this, the US had not tested during the initial stages of the coronavirus and presently has 1,000 cases per day. During a 23-minute phone conversation between Trump and his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in, the US president promised to help Korean manufacturers get approval from the US FDA (Food and Drug Administration).for medical supplies.
Blue House shared the information in an official statement. Moon told Trump that South Korea will provide as much support as possible during the hard times.
After the announcement, shares of testing kit manufacturers like Seegene jumped 27 per cent and SugenTech climbed as much as 23 per cent compared to a 4.5 per cent rise in the benchmark KOSPI index.
