# 119 (emergency telephone number)

119 (one-one-nine) is an emergency telephone number in parts of Asia and in Jamaica. From May 2020, 119 was introduced in the United Kingdom as the single non-emergency number for the COVID-19 testing helpline in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. From January 2022, 119 was introduced in Romania as the single non-emergency number for reporting cases of abuse, neglect, exploitation and any other form of violence against the child.

## Afghanistan

The 119 Information Center of the Minister of Interior Affairs was founded in 2009 in Kabul city with 58 employees operating 24 hours a day. This main goal of this information center is to give citizens an opportunity to report complaints of police misbehavior, corruption, and human rights violations, criminal and terrorist activity. In 2013, with the help of the public, the 119 information prevented many dangerous attacks against people and property. In 2020, the national police disabled 173 mines, discovered 15 suicide vests, and arrested 20 suicide attackers.

## China

119 is recognised in China as the standard emergency telephone number for firefighters. Similar to Japan, the emergency telephone number for police is 110, but ambulance service is available with the emergency telephone number 120 in China.

## Japan

119 in Japan is a direct-dial emergency number that connects the caller to the fire brigade and emergency medical services. Although the dispatchers still record the address of the emergency call manually, most systems are now set up to automatically log the location of the call. Unlike many emergency telephone number services, the 119 system in Japan only services fire and ambulance services. Police are called using a separate emergency telephone number, 110.

## Maldives

The 1-1-9 in Maldives is a direct-dial free emergency telephone number that connects the caller to the national police; the Maldives Police Service.

## South Korea

119 is a direct-dial emergency telephone number in South Korea for fire brigade and ambulance service operated by the National Emergency Management Agency. The caller's location is automatically traced once the call is connected, and operators who can speak Chinese, English, Japanese, and Korean should be available.
1339 is a separate telephone number reserved for non-emergency medical information calls. An emergency pager service called 'U119' also exists for registered people such as the elderly or cancer patients. 112 is the emergency number for police, with other numbers dedicated for other situations, such as discovery of missing persons.

## Sri Lanka

The 1-1-9 emergency response system in Sri Lanka was established during the time of the Sri Lankan Civil War. It was established for the aid in battling terrorism by the means of helping civilians in the conflict, and also as a supportive tool in locating and preventing attacks by terrorists. But now, 119 has become the standard emergency telephone number for calling the police. When a caller dials 119, the request goes to the Police Emergency Division in Colombo, and will be diverted to the police station nearest to the caller's location, depending on the situation. Though mainly used to contact police, 119 calls can be placed to summon the Fire Brigade as well, whereas the call will be again diverted. The number is accessible from any part of the island on all telephone and cellular networks.

## Taiwan

119 is recognised in Taiwan as the emergency telephone number for firefighters and ambulance services.

## United Kingdom

Introduced on 18 May 2020, the non-emergency urgent telephone number 119 is allocated to the COVID-19 vaccine helpline in England. It allows people to arrange Coronavirus vaccination appointments. In Scotland, 0300 303 2713 is the non-geographical telephone number to be used, instead of 119.