Bahk Eun-ji has been with The Korea Times since 2012, building a career across multiple desks. She began at the Business Desk, where she conducted in-depth interviews with key figures in Korea's corporate world. Later, she moved to the Politics & City Desk, focusing on education policy and social affairs. She later served as team leader of the digital content team, leading curation efforts on the newspaper’s homepage and reshaping print stories for social media audiences to enhance digital reach. Now back on the Politics Desk, she covers the National Assembly and the Ministry of National Defense, with a renewed focus on political developments.
QR code scanning to be mandatory at cram schools
Government employees try quick response (QR) code-based entry logs at the government complex in Sejong, in this June 2 photo. Yonhap
By Bahk Eun-ji
By Bahk Eun-ji
People will be required to carry quick response (QR) codes on their mobile phones if they want to attend cram schools or use PC rooms in the Seoul metropolitan area the health authorities said Friday, as a measure to stem the spread of COVID-19.
The QR scanning move is part of the tougher infection disease prevention measures in densely populated areas including the capital and Incheon, and adjacent cities in Gyeonggi Province.
“Extended social distancing measures will also be enforced until the number of new daily cases in the areas falls to single digits. We have come up with these measures to minimize disruptions in school classrooms and damage to the livelihoods of businesses that could be caused if we go back to full social distancing. They are needed to block the chain of infections concentrated in the Seoul metropolitan area,” said Health Minister Park Neung-hoo during a press briefing at the Government Complex in Seoul.
It's unclear how long it will take to implement the measure.
The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) reported 56 new infections Thursday, including 43 local cases, which raised the nation's total to 12,003. The total death tally increased by one to 277.
Among the 43 local infections, 24 lived in Seoul, 18 were residents of Gyeonggi Province, and one was in Daegu.
Thirteen were elderly people who had been treated at a public daycare center in Dobong District in northeastern Seoul.
“More than 96 percent of cases detected from May 29 to June 11 have been in the Seoul metropolitan area. When the first patient of the infection cluster was identified, the spread of the virus was already fast enough to complete the third and fourth transmission, so the speed of tracking by the quarantine authorities could not keep up with the spread,” Park said.
The cases traced to a warehouse run by e-commerce leader Coupang in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Provice, reached 147, Thursday, up one from a day earlier. Those linked to small churches in the metropolitan area rose by two to reach 95.
Infections linked to a door-to-door business establishment rose to 139 the same day, with patients aged 65 and above accounting for 44.6 percent of them. The infection cases linked to a table tennis gym in southwestern Seoul stood at 61.