Automotive industry figures attending the annual CES trade show in Las Vegas can expect to fly home from a successful trip with some great ideas, a bunch of useful contacts, and maybe a goodie bag of stickers and brochures.
But around 70 South Korean nationals landed back in Asia with a little something they hadn’t planned, and possibility didn’t even know about. Various staff and executives of companies including Samsung, Hyundai Heavy Industries and SK Group all tested positive for COVID-19 on their return according to reports from Korea, while others tested positive before even leaving the U.S. and were forced to quarantine prior to flying home.
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Approximately 340 South Korean companies participated in January’s CES, and the Asian country’s health ministry has been attempting to contact Korean showgoers. A spokesman urged any Koreans who were in Vegas to take a PCR test as soon as possible, Reuters reports.
The news isn’t great for South Korea, which has been employing strict social distancing rules and adopting vaccine passports to combat the number of COVID-19 infections. December’s infection rates reached a record high in December, but have since fallen.
The Korean delegates managed to become infected with the virus despite many of them taking precautions. Samsung Electronics, for instance, claimed it “took a number of steps to protect the health and well-being of attendees”, such as requiring show attendees to be fully vaccinated, to wear masks and to adhere to social distancing protocols while at the Nevada tech show.