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CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.

Daily COVID-19 deaths hit all-time high

People wait in line to undergo a COVID-19 test at a testing site set up at a public health center in Seoul, Feb. 24. Reuters-Yonhap South Korea's daily COVID-19 infections fell below 140,000, Sunday, due mainly to fewer tests conducted over the weekend, but virus-linked deaths soared to a record high as critical cases rose at a rapid pace amid the spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant.The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reported 139,626 new infections, including 139,466 local ones, raising the total caseload to 3,134,456.The overall number of cases surpassed 3 million just about a week after reaching the 2 million mark ― the figure surpassed the 1 million mark earlier this month.Sunday's total marked a drop from the previous day's 163,566. The tally surpassed the 100,000 mark for the first time in mid-February and soared to an all-time high of 171,442, last Tuesday, before staying around the 160,000 level in the following days.The countr

Feb 28, 2022
Daily COVID-19 deaths hit all-time high
  • Gov't to suspend vaccine pass enforcement at restaurants, cafes starting Tuesday

Gov't to suspend vaccine pass enforcement at restaurants, cafes starting Tuesday

gettyimagesbankThe enforcement of vaccine passes at restaurants, cafes and other multiuse facilities will be temporarily lifted starting Tuesday to reduce the burden on health workers mobilized to issue negative test certificates, Interior Minister Jeon Hae-cheol said Monday.Speaking at an interagency COVID-19 response meeting, Jeon said the decision will help the government prioritize its administrative capacity toward dealing with the fast spread of the omicron coronavirus variant and high-risk virus patients.Jeon pointed out that public health centers have recently been burdened with issuing negative virus test certificates following the latest wave of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, and lifting the vaccine pass requirements will allow health officials to focus their efforts on better treating high-risk patients.The minister also said 3,000 central government workers will be sent to 258 local health centers to provide support in dealing with the Omicron surge. Some 1,000 military personnel will also be mobilized by the weekend. (Yonhap)

Feb 28, 2022
Gov't to suspend vaccine pass enforcement at restaurants, cafes starting Tuesday
  • Daily COVID-19 deaths hit all-time high

Quarantine rules to be eased amid record-high COVID-19 deaths

A medical worker administers a COVID-19 test on a visitor at a screening center near Seoul Station, Sunday. YonhapKorea's COVID Resilience Ranking drops to 21st out of 53 nationsBy Lee Hyo-jin The government has decided to ease self-isolation and testing rules for unvaccinated people who have come in close contact with COVID-19 patients. But this latest move has raised concerns of fueling virus transmission among asymptomatic patients. Despite the soaring number of COVID-19 cases, the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters announced Friday it will lift mandatory self-isolation rules for close contacts and cohabiting family members of COVID-19 patients, regardless of their vaccination status, starting March 1. Currently, those who are not fully vaccinated must quarantine for a week after coming into close contact with a patient. The health ministry defines close contact as “living in the same home or having talked without wearing a face mask for 15 minutes or longer.”But under the new measures, these people will now be subject to what the government calls

Feb 27, 2022By Lee Hyo-jin
Quarantine rules to be eased amid record-high COVID-19 deaths

New cases remain below 170,000 for 3rd day; critically ill patient numbers rise

People wait in line to undergo a COVID-19 test at a testing site temporarily set up at a public health center in Seoul, Feb. 24. Reuters-YonhapKorea's daily COVID-19 infections stayed below 170,000 for the third straight day Saturday, but the number of critically ill patients continued to rise at a fast pace with the spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant.The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reported 163,566 new cases, including 163,414 local ones, raising the total caseload to 2,994,841.The daily tally slightly decreased from the 166,209 reported for Friday. Daily infections exceeded the 100,000 mark for the first time a week earlier and hit a record high of 171,442, Tuesday.The increase in cases has raised the number of critically ill COVID-19 patients to 662, up from the previous day's 643.Forty-nine more deaths were recorded for an accumulated toll of 7,944, and a fatality rate of 0.27 percent, according to the KDCA.The government said the current wave is expected to peak at some 250,000 daily cases in mid-March as the highly contagious Omicron variant

Feb 27, 2022
New cases remain below 170,000 for 3rd day; critically ill patient numbers rise

New cases below 170,000 for 2nd day; COVID-19 deaths at all-time high

People wait in line to undergo a COVID-19 test at a testing site set up at a public health center in Seoul, Feb. 24. Reuters-Yonhap South Korea's daily COVID-19 infections stayed below 170,000 for the second straight day Friday, but the daily death count hit an all-time high amid the continued rapid spread of the Omicron variant.The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reported 166,209 new cases, including 166,068 local ones, raising the total caseload to 2,831,283.The tally slightly rose from the 165,890 reported Thursday. Daily infections exceeded the 100,000 mark for the first time last week and hit a record high of 171,442, Tuesday.The surge in virus cases raised the number of COVID-19 deaths and critically ill patients.The country added 112 more COVID-19 deaths, the most ever, for an overall toll of 7,895 and a fatality rate of 0.28 percent, according to the KDCA.The number of seriously ill patients came to 643, down from the previous day's 655.Th

Feb 26, 2022
New cases below 170,000 for 2nd day; COVID-19 deaths at all-time high

Korea plans 2nd launch of domestically developed space rocket June 15

Korea's first domestically developed space launch vehicle (SLV), also known as Nuri, lifts off from the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla Province, Oct. 21, 2021. The government said Friday that it plans a second launch of the SLV, June 15. Yonhap The government said Friday that it plans a second launch of the country's indigenous space launch vehicle (SLV) in mid-June, about eight months after a first flight ended in failure due to technical mishaps.The SLV, also known as Nuri, will lift off June 15, about one month later than earlier scheduled as more time is needed to fix the glitches blamed for the previous flight's failure to put a dummy satellite into orbit, according to the science ministry."It requires around an additional month to make all these technical improvements, and to assemble the first, second and third stages of the flight model, and to install the satellite," the ministry said, explaining the cause of the delay from the initially planned

Feb 25, 2022
Korea plans 2nd launch of domestically developed space rocket June 15

Daily COVID-19 infections fall below 170,000 as critical cases rise sharply

People wait in line to undergo a COVID-19 test at a testing site set up at a public health center in Seoul, Feb. 24. Reuters-Yonhap South Korea's daily COVID-19 cases fell below 170,000, Thursday, but critical cases and deaths from the virus rose at a faster pace amid the continued spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant.The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reported 165,890 new infections, including 165,749 local ones, raising the total caseload to 2,665,077.This is slightly down from the previous day's 170,015. Daily infections surpassed the 100,000 level for the first time last week and soared to a record high of 171,442, Tuesday.Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said that the daily caseload could rise to as high as 250,000 by mid-March when the Omicron wave is forecast to reach its peak.The number of critically ill COVID-19 patients grew sharply to 655 from the previous day's 581. Compared with a week earlier, the figure has surged about 70 pe

Feb 25, 2022
Daily COVID-19 infections fall below 170,000 as critical cases rise sharply
  • Omicron wave expected to peak in mid-March with daily cases around 250,000: PM

Omicron wave expected to peak in mid-March with daily cases around 250,000: PM

People wait in line to undergo a COVID-19 test at a testing site set up at a public health center in Seoul, Feb. 24. Reuters-Yonhap Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said Friday that the country is expected to see the peak of the Omicron wave of COVID-19 in mid-March with daily cases hovering around 250,000.South Korea's daily virus infections surpassed the 100,000 level for the first time last week, and soared to a record high of 171,452, Tuesday, due to the highly transmissible Omicron variant."Some experts are saying that it may hit a peak faster than expected," Kim said during a COVID-19 response meeting in Seoul. "Although we do not know exactly when, it is certainly nearing the peak." Kim earlier emphasized that people should not be scared over the number of new COVID-19 cases, stressing that the fatality rate and the number of critical patients are being managed stably, while data show the Omicron variant was less virulent. South Korea has moved onto an enhanced tr

Feb 25, 2022
Omicron wave expected to peak in mid-March with daily cases around 250,000: PM
  • Korea may adopt pandemic exit plan after mid-March
  • Daily COVID-19 infections fall below 170,000 as critical cases rise sharply

Yeoju mayor touts nationwide use of on-site PCR tests

Yeoju Mayor Lee Hang-jin speaks during a press conference at the Press Center in downtown Seoul, Feb 24. Courtesy of Yeoju City HallMayor criticizes KDCA for not acknowledging city's testing methodBy Ko Dong-hwanYeoju, southeast of Seoul, was the first city in Korea to use on-site polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing to help confirm if people were infected with COVID-19. The method is known for its precision as well as drastic saving of time due to not having to move collected samples to a separate laboratory for actual testing. The city in Gyeonggi Province started employing the method in December 2020 and has tested over 202,800 people as of Feb. 2 this year ― including those from outside the city.Mayor Lee Hang-jin of Yeoju hopes the method, which has been proven to be more effective than other existing tests, will also be used in other cities, so that more people nationwide can get tested faster and those infected with the disease can be quarantined more promptly. His wish is shared by the broader public with more urgency than ever, as the country is seeing record-breaking num

Feb 24, 2022By Ko Dong-hwan
Yeoju mayor touts nationwide use of on-site PCR tests

Korea may adopt pandemic exit plan after mid-March

Health Minister Kwon Deok-cheol speaks during a virtual press conference, Thursday. Courtesy of the Ministry of Health and WelfareStill long way to go as daily infections stay above 170,000 for 2nd day By Lee Hyo-jin The Korean government may adopt a pandemic exit plan after the Omicron wave peaks, which it believes will come in mid-March, revising quarantine measures toward a phased return to normalcy, according to Health Minister Kwon Deok-cheol, Thursday.“Experts predict that the current wave will reach its peak in mid-March, after which, as seen in other countries, the number of infections will begin to fall,” Kwon said during a virtual press conference. “And if the virus situation at that time is deemed manageable within our medical capacity, we will review revising our social distancing measures,” he added.Kwon said that, though there is still a long way to go, the government is in the initial stage of drawing up a detailed roadmap for an exit from the pandemic, based on which, the country would move into a new phase where the coronavirus is managed like

Feb 24, 2022By Lee Hyo-jin
Korea may adopt pandemic exit plan after mid-March
  • Omicron wave expected to peak in mid-March with daily cases around 250,000: PM
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