84. tell them to go away.
I left the CDC after agreeing with Dr. Chung that we would continue to work closely together.
Now that the major points had been agreed upon, it was best to proceed with the development of diagnostic equipment and vaccines as they were developed and wait for the Chinese to respond.
Sure enough, the next day, January 4, Hong Kong declared a state of emergency, and the story was finally covered by KBS, albeit briefly.
Then, on January 5, 14 cases were found in Taiwan.
From nob le mt l. co m
January 8th.
The first case of the virus was detected in South Korea, causing an uproar.
It was a Chinese woman who had visited Wuhan, China in December, and as soon as it was reported, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention secretly brought the woman’s specimen to us for testing.
Our laboratory immediately performed PCR (genetic testing) on the sample, and fortunately, it was confirmed that it was not coronavirus.
“Ten years in the making—.”
“Who doesn’t?”
Mr. Nam and I had to rub our chests.
There was nothing we could do if the coronavirus spread in Korea now.
We hoped for a little more time.
Tiri-ri-ri-ring! Ti-ri-ri-ri-ring!
It’s Mr. Jung In-young on the phone.
What’s going on?
“Yes, sir”
– Mr. Chairman, I’m calling to let you know about a few things, is that okay?
“This is the business card I gave you to contact me. Can I help you?”
– I reported to the Minister that Karma is proactively responding to the coronavirus outbreak, and that the VIP has been informed.
“Really?”
– “Yes, Mr. President. First of all, Karma’s efforts to obtain the specimen are off the record. I think you can rest assured of that.
“Thank you.”
– And as soon as China acknowledges that the novel coronavirus originated in China, our disease control center will go into an emergency mode. The Central Disaster and Safety Task Force, with the prime minister as its head, will be activated.
It was a stronger move than I expected.
Compared to the short shrift that the media now gives it.
Anyway, when we had MERS a few years ago, it was not only the epidemiologists, but also the government at the time.
I don’t know if that’s why, but they seemed to be so proactive that it was unusual.
“You’re doing a good job.”
– Yes, thank you. I think we’ll need a lot of support from the chairman in the future, please.
“I’m going to do everything I can. If there’s anything I can do to help, just let me know.”
– Thank you.
Then, the next day, January 9th.
China has finally confirmed the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.
It was time to move in earnest.
The government immediately issued a public statement.
It raised the epidemic alert to “severe” and announced the activation of the Central Disaster Safety Task Force.
To be honest, raising the alert level to “severe” surprised me, knowing how high it was, and it surprised Myung-ki Min, Vice President of the company.
“The government must be serious. I didn’t expect them to raise the alert level to Red right away.”
“That’s right. That’s a lot of planning.”
There are four levels of crisis alerts in South Korea.
Blue, yellow, watch, orange, and finally red.
In principle, severe is issued when an infectious disease enters the country and spreads, and in fact, at this stage, it would be more like watch or caution.
However, the previous tiers were blatantly ignored in favor of severe.
Severe means a full-scale government response.
This shows how seriously the government is taking this.
And I would have been a big part of that.
Moreover, when I found out the story, I was told that the quarantine officials, who were deeply hurt by MERS in the past, rose to the occasion.
They demanded that it be upgraded to serious, and some of them risked their jobs.
This is why the government has to be strong.
When the epidemic warning was upgraded to severe, public opinion changed again.
What’s the big deal, and are they trying to scare the people on purpose?
I tuned out the noise, thinking it would subside soon, but then a report came up that the diagnostic kit had been completed.
“Mr. Chairman, the diagnostic kit is complete.”
“Oooh, that’s great news, so how accurately can it identify the coronavirus?”
“The rapid antigen test diagnostic kit is said to be within the domestic approval standards of 80% sensitivity and 97% specificity.”
“…”
“Mr. Chairman?”
“I’m a humanities major. And I’m a high school graduate.”
“Yes—.”
“Please tell me in simple terms.”
“In a nutshell, it has a positive predictive rate of over 90%. Of course, it’s less accurate than PCR, and it depends on how skilled you are at collecting it, but right now there’s no way to screen for positives faster than that.”
I would have said.
“Then go ahead and request expedited approval. Let Mr. Chung know about it, and tell him to push hard to get it passed as soon as possible.”
“That’s what I did.”
“Good job.”
The diagnostic kit was approved sooner than expected.
Considering the seriousness of the situation, the KFDA decided to accept 100% of the data we submitted, approve mass production, and verify it later.
Therefore, after carefully reviewing the data we submitted, the KFDA visited our laboratory and verified that we actually had the capacity to develop the diagnostic kit.
This was just three days after we submitted the request.
And then, on January 11th.
Chinese authorities announced the first death from the novel coronavirus, and a sense of crisis began to build around the world.
“Run the factory around the clock, between shifts 4 and 5, we’re running out of time!”
“Yes, Mr. Chairman!”
The novel coronavirus spread like wildfire around the world.
Confirmed cases began to emerge in Thailand, followed by Japan and the United Kingdom.
From nob le mt l. co m
January 18th.
It was a weekend, but first, we donated 1 million mass-produced diagnostic kits to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Afterward, we decided to sell them at a fair price.
The kits were distributed to airports and seaports across the country, including Incheon and Gimpo airports, as well as Incheon and Busan ports, so that all Koreans and foreigners entering the country would have to undergo an unconditional test to enter the country, regardless of where they were coming from or going through.
And the measures took effect immediately.
From nob le mt l. co m
Jan. 19.
A 35-year-old Chinese national living in Wuhan, China, tested positive at Incheon Airport during immigration procedures.
She, as well as the entire crew and passengers on the flight, were quarantined.
Then, seven hours later.
The National Center for Disaster Prevention and Countermeasures announced that the first person infected with the novel coronavirus in South Korea was quarantined after trying to enter the country.
This is the first confirmed case in South Korea.
Fortunately, the diagnostic kits distributed a day earlier had succeeded in stopping them at the airport.
The public opinion that the quarantine authorities were scaring and blackmailing the people was well received, and the giregi who were criticizing the government and even our company as examples of cronyism until yesterday started to praise the government and our company all at once.
f*cking giraffes.
I thought I could finally relax.
The vaccine had already been secretly approved a few days earlier and entered the first phase of clinical trials.
The trial period, which normally takes 30 months, has been shortened to five months.
While we were locked down so tightly, this demon was spreading around the world.
From nob le mt l. co m
January 22.
The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announces the first confirmed case of the novel coronavirus in the U.S., saying it will be monitored and treated with caution from now on.
From nob le mt l. co m
Jan. 25.
As the novel coronavirus spreads around the world, a government official visits the company.
“This is Kim Sung-jong, Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”
“This is Mr. Steele from Karma Investment.”
“hahahaha, this young man has done a great job. The government is truly grateful.”
“Thank you, but for what?”
I didn’t like the young man’s tone right away, but he didn’t seem particularly malicious, so I let it slide.
“Actually, this time, my government would like to help China by purchasing masks, protective clothing, and diagnostic kits in the spirit of friendship between the two countries. The Chinese side specifically asked for help with the diagnostic kits, so I came here to ask you for a favor.”
“…”
“…”
I, President Nam Jung-won, and Vice President Min Myung-ki were momentarily speechless.
What? Was this the only reason he wanted to see me?
Naboorang, the director of the bureau, dared to poke fun at me?
I could see President Nam Won-jeong and Vice President Min Myung-ki’s faces immediately turn unpleasant.
But let’s put up with it.
Isn’t it a rule that martial artists and officials shouldn’t get involved with each other because they’re considered “unclean sewage”?
The analogy is a bit odd, but there was no point in pretending to be the government.
Of course, this guy isn’t the government.
He stopped the president of Namjungwon, who was about to have a seizure in particular, with a glance and opened his mouth.
“Sino-Korean friendship? I don’t think China and Korea have been very friendly lately.”
The THAAD furor has driven many South Korean companies out of China.
In particular, the Roche Group, which provided the site for the THAAD battery at the government’s request, was cut off from the Chinese market.
And Han Han-ryung is still there, so what’s the point?
“Humph, I can understand how you feel, Mr. Chairman, China has been a b*tch lately.”
Finally catching on to the mood, Kim spoke up.
“However, China is still a very important country for our country, both politically and economically. At times like this, even if we don’t get along, it’s better for the future if we support each other.”
“hahahaha, so what can I do for you?”
“Well, if you can give the chairman your usual support—.”
What?
You don’t want me to buy it, you want me to donate it?
The Chinese are not beggars anymore.
I realized that I needed to set some rules.
If there is a full-blown pandemic, the world is going to come running to us because we have a huge stockpile of supplies and will be the first to develop a vaccine.
I think we need to prioritize and create an action plan for when that happens.
But enough about that, let’s deal with Director Kim first.
“Hey, by the way, who do you mean when you say you’re here, do you mean the foreign minister?”
“Oh, no, I’m in charge of getting things done first and—.”
I finally got the picture.
This guy had come to our company with a rank and title, hoping to gain some kind of merit.
I answer him anyway.
“We can’t help you!”
“What? No, I—.”
“It is our policy to sell all goods going to China at full price. Either you buy it, or they buy it. It would be very gracious of them to sell it to you, wouldn’t it?”
“…”
Director Kim’s face turned yellow.