Jung Min-ho has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2012, mostly covering social and political issues. He currently belongs to the Politics & City Desk where he covers topics such as health, labor and human rights. Prior to joining the team, he was responsible for covering North Korea and sports. His article about a biosecurity breach of Middle East respiratory syndrome won him an award from the Korea Science Journalists Association in 2016. He is also the co-author of the book, "Medical Pioneers of Korea" (2019). He served as the head of the international relations committee at the Journalists Association of Korea from 2021 to 2023.
US Forces Korea lifts Daegu travel ban after two months
A solder from the Republic of Korea Army 50th Infantry Division disinfects a church in Daegu, Thursday. U.S. Forces Korea has lifted its travel ban on Daegu after the city successfully brought the COVID-19 outbreak under control. Yonhap
By Jung Min-ho
By Jung Min-ho
U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) has lifted its travel ban on Daegu, once a COVID-19 hotbed in Korea, after the city successfully brought the situation under control.
“Due to the hard work of the City of Daegu, USAG Daegu and the 19th ESC, the USFK Commander has declared the Daegu area is no longer a Hot Spot off-limits area, effective 15 April 2020 at 4:00 PM. Current HPCON measures and local restrictions still apply,” USFK said on Facebook Thursday (KST).
On Feb. 20, USFK banned its personnel from traveling to and from Daegu over virus concerns.
After reporting its first case on Feb. 18, the city struggled with a surging number of patients, with daily new cases reaching a peak at 741 on Feb. 29.
But with strict quarantine measures, the number started to decease and, on April 10, Daegu declared no additional infections for the first time since the outbreak. According to the city government, daily new cases over the past week remained under five.