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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 infections over 4,000 for 3rd day; imported cases hit fresh high

An exhausted medical worker rests in a booth at a makeshift testing site in Seoul, Jan. 13. AP-YonhapDaily new COVID-19 infections stayed above 4,000 for the third consecutive day, as imported cases reached an all-time high Thursday, prompting the government to extend some toughened social distancing rules for three more weeks.The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reported 4,542 new cases, including 4,133 local ones, raising the total caseload to 683,566.The number of imported cases hit a daily high of 409 amid the spread of the Omicron variant across the globe, according to the KDCA.The health authorities decided to ban all entrants' use of ordinary public transportation upon arrival and tighten rules on the proof of negative COVID-19 test results to stem the inflow of the virus. The measures will go into effect Jan. 20. Forty-nine more deaths were recorded, raising the toll to 6,259 and pushing up the fatality rate to 0.92 percent.Critically ill COVID-19 patients numbered 659, the first time the figure has fallen below 700 in more than a month, the KDCA said.The go

Jan 14, 2022
Daily infections over 4,000 for 3rd day; imported cases hit fresh high
  • Gov't to raise private gathering size limit to 6, keep 9 p.m. curfew on restaurants

Gov't to raise private gathering size limit to 6, keep 9 p.m. curfew on restaurants

Medical workers wait for people at an empty makeshift testing site in Seoul, Jan. 13. AP-YonhapThe government decided to raise the private gathering size limit to six while keeping its 9 p.m. curfew on restaurants and cafes for the next three weeks, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said Friday. The decision came as the number of daily COVID-19 cases has hovered around 4,000 in recent days following the government's robust booster shot campaign and tightened antivirus curbs, after reaching as high as over 7,000 last month.However, the health authorities are still keeping their guard up due to the spread of the highly transmissible Omicron variant of COVID-19, with concerns over a possible uptick around the Lunar New Year holiday period beginning later this month. The new distancing rules will be in place from Monday through Feb. 6. (Yonhap)

Jan 14, 2022
Gov't to raise private gathering size limit to 6, keep 9 p.m. curfew on restaurants
  • Daily infections over 4,000 for 3rd day; imported cases hit fresh high

Korea expected to become world's biggest investor in fab equipment this year: report

gettyimagesbankKorea is expected to become the biggest investor in chip fabrication facilities this year, a global industry association said Thursday.According to SEMI, a global industry association representing the electronics manufacturing and design supply chain, South Korea is forecast to rank at the top of fab equipment spending this year, followed by Taiwan and China.Global fab equipment spending is predicted to increase 10 percent from last year to reach an all-time high of $98 billion, SEMI said in its quarterly World Fab Forecast report, marking a third consecutive year of growth.Fab equipment spending rose 17 percent in 2020 and 39 percent in 2021 year-on-year."The semiconductor equipment industry has enjoyed a period of unprecedented growth with increased spending in six of the past seven years as chipmakers expand capacity to meet secular demand for a wide range of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, autonomous machines and quantum computing," Ajit Manocha, president and CEO of SEMI said. "The capacity build out extends beyond the robust demand durin

Jan 13, 2022
Korea expected to become world's biggest investor in fab equipment this year: report

Daily infections over 4,000 for 2nd day; imported cases hit record high

People wearing face masks to help curb the spread of COVID-19 walk through light and shadow in Seoul, Jan. 12. AP-YonhapDaily COVID-19 infections stayed above 4,000 for the second consecutive day Wednesday, deepening concerns over a possible resurgence amid the continued spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reported 4,167 new cases, including 3,776 local ones, raising the total caseload to 679,030.Thursday's tally is down from 4,385 the previous day, when the figure bounced back to 4,000 from the 3,000 level after about a week.The number of imported cases hit an all-time high of 391 amid the fast spread of the Omicron variant around the world, according to the KDCA.Forty-four more deaths were recorded, raising the toll to 6,210 for a fatality rate of 0.91 percent, according to the health authorities.The number of critically ill COVID-19 patients stood at 701, staying below 800 for the fourth straight day, the KDCA said.Later in the day, the first batch of U.S. drug giant Pfizer's Paxlovid antiviral COVID-19 treatment

Jan 13, 2022
Daily infections over 4,000 for 2nd day; imported cases hit record high

Korea to use oral COVID-19 pills from Friday

A public healthcare worker in Bupyeong District, Incheon, participates in a mock distribution drill of oral COVID-19 pills, Wednesday. YonhapBy Lee Hyo-jin Korea will receive its first shipment of COVID-19 antiviral pills on Thursday, which the government plans to use on elderly patients aged 65 and over, along with immunocompromised patients at risk of developing critical health issues.The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced Wednesday that 21,000 courses of Paxlovid, the oral COVID-19 pills developed by Pfizer, will arrive on Thursday and will be dispensed from Friday.The initial batches are among the 762,000 the government has purchased from the pharmaceutical company. The ministry added that 10,000 more doses are expected to be delivered by the end of January. As the initial delivery is highly limited, the government has decided to limit eligibility on a priority basis: people aged 65 and older and those with weak immune system, who are experiencing mild to moderate COVID-19 symptoms.The authorities noted that eligibility will be adjusted or expanded depending on the supply s

Jan 12, 2022By Lee Hyo-jin
Korea to use oral COVID-19 pills from Friday
  • Daily infections back above 4,000 after 6 days amid lingering Omicron woes
  • Korea approves use of Novavax COVID-19 vaccine

Gov't cartoon promoting COVID-19 vaccination for teens draws backlash

A cartoon on the Korean ministry of education's Facebook site features two students promising to get COVID-19 vaccine jabs and “eat tteokbokki together” at a snack bar. Screen capture from FacebookBy Ko Dong-hwanA recent government campaign using a cartoon on a social network to promote COVID-19 vaccination for teenagers has drawn a backlash from some parents who criticized the message in the cartoon as inappropriate.The cartoon, posted Jan. 7 on the Ministry of Education's Facebook page, features two female students who couldn't eat tteokbokki ― spicy simmered rice cake ― at a snack bar because the eatery refused to allow them to eat inside as they were unvaccinated so they ended up buying the food as a takeout. Their ensuing conversation shows they realize the necessity of getting the shots and they promise to get vaccinated to “eat tteokbokki together” there next time.The message was clearly oriented toward teenagers many of whom are concerned with the risk side effects from the vaccine and have been delaying getting inoculated. Compared with other age grou

Jan 12, 2022By Ko Dong-hwan
Gov't cartoon promoting COVID-19 vaccination for teens draws backlash

Korea approves use of Novavax COVID-19 vaccine

Vials with COVID-19 vaccine labels attached and syringes are seen in this file photo taken Nov. 17, 2020, with the logo of U.S. biotech company Novavax in the background. Korea has authorized the use of Novavax's COVID-19 vaccine, the government said Wednesday. AFP-YonhapSouth Korea's drug safety agency on Wednesday approved an authorization of U.S.-based biotechnology company Novavax Inc.'s COVID-19 vaccine.The protein-based vaccine, Nuvaxovid, marks the fifth COVID-19 vaccine to get approval for use here, following the ones by British-Swedish pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca and Oxford University, Pfizer Inc., Johnson Johnson and Moderna Inc.The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety convened a panel of experts from both inside and outside to review the safety and efficacy of the two-dose regimen, after reviewing two sets of studies. The approved vaccines will be distributed by SK Bioscience Co., a unit of South Korea's SK Group, after being manufactured at its local plant. The vaccine will be administered to people aged 18 or older, and a second injection will be administered 21 days af

Jan 12, 2022
Korea approves use of Novavax COVID-19 vaccine
  • Korea to use oral COVID-19 pills from Friday

Daily infections back above 4,000 after 6 days amid lingering Omicron woes

People wearing face masks to help protect against the spread of COVID-19 sit on swings at a park in Goyang, Jan. 7. AP-YonhapDaily COVID-19 cases bounced back to above 4,000 for the first time in six days Tuesday, putting the health authorities on high alert over a possible resurgence amid Omicron concerns.The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reported 4,388 new coronavirus infections, including 4,007 local ones, raising the total caseload to 674,868.Tuesday's figure was up 1,291 from a day earlier, but 53 down from the same day last week. The country recorded 52 more deaths, raising the toll to 6,166, for a fatality rate of 0.91 percent, according to the KDCA.Critically ill COVID-19 patients stood at 749, staying below 800 for the fourth straight day.The government has re-imposed toughened antivirus restrictions since mid-December after daily infections soared to nearly 8,000 under the eased "Living with COVID-19" strategy.The current antivirus curbs, set to be in effect until Sunday, include a four-person cap on private gatherings nationwide and a 9 p.m. business h

Jan 12, 2022
Daily infections back above 4,000 after 6 days amid lingering Omicron woes
  • Gov't to introduce 'choice and concentration' strategy to brace for Omicron surge
  • Korea to use oral COVID-19 pills from Friday

People delaying booster shots until last minute

A visitor shows a vaccine certificate on a smartphone via a QR code at a discount store in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, Monday. YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiThe government is encouraging the public to receive booster shots against COVID-19, but many people are postponing it until just before their vaccine pass is set to expire after six months, in an effort to widen the vaccination intervals as much as possible.This trend is because many people now think that they may have to receive a fourth and even fifth vaccination.Kim Hae-jun, a 28-year-old office worker living in Geumcheon District in Seoul, said she plans to wait until right before her vaccine pass expires and then receive the next booster shot. “Looking at the current virus situation, I thought that health authorities might recommend a fourth vaccine dose. But as concerns over possible side effects of the vaccine have not been allayed yet, I am trying to monitor the virus situation more at least for a couple of months to avoid receiving vaccines repeatedly,” Kim said. The vaccine pass, which is given when one fini

Jan 11, 2022By Bahk Eun-ji
People delaying booster shots until last minute

Gov't to introduce 'choice and concentration' strategy to brace for Omicron surge

People stand in line to get tested for the coronavirus at a testing center near Seoul Station, Tuesday. YonhapBy Lee Hyo-jin The government will introduce new pandemic response strategies focused on containing the spread of the Omicron variant, bracing for a possible Omicron-led wave of the coronavirus in the coming weeks. The authorities plan to take a “choice and concentration” approach, utilizing its “3T” ― test, trace and treat ― tactics, while swiftly introducing antiviral pills for high-risk patients undergoing home treatment.The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters said Tuesday that it is drawing up a new quarantine scheme in response to the Omicron variant, with details to be announced later this week.The move comes as the country is facing the increasing spread of the highly transmissible variant.Although the current spread is led by the Delta strain, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) predicted that the Omicron variant, which currently accounts for about 10 percent of total infections, will take over as the dom

Jan 11, 2022By Lee Hyo-jin
Gov't to introduce 'choice and concentration' strategy to brace for Omicron surge
  • Daily infections below 4,000 for 5th day amid tightened curbs
  • Daily infections back above 4,000 after 6 days amid lingering Omicron woes
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