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PM apologizes over vaccine pass system failure

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum speaks during a meeting on the government's response to COVID-19 at the government complex in Seoul, Dec. 14. YonhapPrime Minister Kim Boo-kyum apologized Tuesday for inconveniences caused by an outage of the government's digital COVID-19 vaccine pass system after authorities began enforcing the system in restaurants and other multiuse facilities across the country.In a Cabinet meeting held at the government office complex in Seoul, Kim said he "sincerely apologized for causing inconvenience to the public" with the vaccine pass system outage on Monday."Yesterday was the launch day in enforcing the vaccine pass system but access (to the application) was throttled as user traffic was concentrated at a certain time," Kim added. The prime minister instructed health authorities to swiftly stabilize the system and come up with measures to prevent another outage. Following a one-week trial period, the country officially began its vaccine pass system Monday, requiring all visitors to cafes and restaurants to present a certificate proving they have completed their

Dec 14, 2021
PM apologizes over vaccine pass system failure

Cheong Wa Dae hints at toughening COVID-19 restrictions

Park Soo-hyun, senior presidential secretary for public communication / Korea Times fileThe office of President Moon Jae-in hinted on Tuesday that the government may reintroduce toughened social distancing measures sooner or later to stem the recent resurgence of COVID-19."I don't think the government's (quarantine) measures and actions should be delayed or insufficient at this critical moment," said Park Soo-hyun, senior presidential secretary for public communication, in a radio interview."The appropriate measures have already been in place, but the card will be selected according to the situation at that time. Let's watch the situation on Wednesday and Thursday," Park said.His remarks can be interpreted as implying that strengthened quarantine measures may be announced on Friday depending on the coronavirus trend.With daily infections hovering around 5,000 to 7,000 lately and the number of serious COVID-19 patients continuing to hit new highs, there are growing calls particularly from the medical community for reintroducing tougher social distancing measures.The government last mo

Dec 14, 2021
Cheong Wa Dae hints at toughening COVID-19 restrictions

Coronavirus: Deaths and critical cases hit record highs

A medical worker wearing personal protective equipment checks a COVID-19 patient inside the intensive care unit of the Bagae Hospital in Pyeongtaek, Dec. 1. EPA-YonhapSouth Korea's new coronavirus cases stayed below 6,000 for the second straight day Tuesday, but critical cases and deaths hit record highs amid concerns over the spread of the new Omicron variant.The country added 5,567 new COVID-19 infections, including 5,525 local cases, raising the total caseload to 528,652, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Daily infections soared to a record high of 7,174 cases on Wednesday and remained above 7,000 for the following two days. The daily caseload fell to 5,817 on Monday after reporting 6,976 on Saturday and 6,688 on Sunday. The number of critically ill COVID-19 patients hit a record high of 906. Deaths from the pandemic also marked a fresh record of 94, bringing the death toll to 4,387. The fatality rate stood at 0.83 percent, the KDCA said. The public health agency has confirmed five more Omicron cases, raising the total to 119.Of the locally trans

Dec 14, 2021
Coronavirus: Deaths and critical cases hit record highs

QR system outage causes inconvenience on 1st day of vaccine pass enforcement

A woman walks out of a restaurant in Seoul, Dec. 13, the first day of the government's vaccine pass enforcement. YonhapOutages in the government's digital vaccine authentication system have been reported in large numbers Monday, causing inconveniences around lunch time on the first day of the nation's vaccine pass enforcement.Reports of inability to access COOV, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency's smartphone application which offers vaccine certifications in QR codes, began appearing in various online communities at around 11:40 a.m.Authentications of QR codes in other popular services, such as Naver, Kakao Talk and Toss Bank, were also reportedly spotty around the same time.What appeared to be a system error of COOV has caused inconveniences to workers trying to eat at restaurants and cafes on Monday, the first day of the government's enforcement of a nationwide vaccine pass system following a weeklong grace period.Starting Monday, businesses will be fined 1.5 million won ($1,260) if they fail to abide by the vaccine pass system. They can also be ordered to permanently

Dec 13, 2021
QR system outage causes inconvenience on 1st day of vaccine pass enforcement

Vaccine pass system comes into force

A visitor wears plastic gloves to help curb the spread of the coronavirus as they wait in a line for the tests at a temporary screening clinic for coronavirus in Seoul, Dec. 10. AP-YonhapSouth Korea's new coronavirus cases fell below 6,000 for the first time in six days Monday due to fewer tests over the weekend amid concerns over the spread of the new omicron variant.The country added 5,817 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total caseload to 523,088, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Daily infections soared to a record high of 7,174 cases on Wednesday and remained above 7,000 for the following two days before falling to 6,977 on Saturday and 6,689 on Sunday.The number of critically ill COVID-19 patients came in at the second-highest tally of 876 after reaching an all-time high of 894 on Sunday, the KDCA said. The country added 40 more deaths from the pandemic, bringing the death toll to 4,293. The fatality rate stood at 0.82 percent.The public health agency has confirmed 24 more omicron cases, raising the total to 114.Of the total cases, Seoul r

Dec 13, 2021
Vaccine pass system comes into force

Health experts call for toughest social distancing measures yet

People wait in line to receive coronavirus tests at a temporary screening center in Songpa District, Seoul, Sunday. YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiEpidemiologists are calling on the government to implement its toughest-yet social distancing measures, as the current COVID-19 situation is growing beyond the nation's medical capacity. They say it is going to be difficult to turn around the current virus situation and control the soaring number of daily infections, which has hovered around 7,000 daily new cases over the last week, with the government's recent new measures, including shortening the dosage interval for booster shots, as it will take at least two months for the policy to take a noticeable effect.Chon Eun-mi, a professor of respiratory medicine at Ewha Womans University Mok-dong Hospital, warned that if no stricter measures are taken immediately, the country's medical system could collapse, as the number of daily infections could possibly reach 10,000, or even double in just a couple of days.“In this situation, only stronger lockdown measures, on the premise of sufficient compens

Dec 12, 2021By Bahk Eun-ji
Health experts call for toughest social distancing measures yet

Coronavirus: Number of critical cases hits fresh high

People queue in line for coronavirus tests at a temporary screening clinic in Seoul, Dec. 10. AP-YonhapSouth Korea's new coronavirus cases fell below 7,000 for the second consecutive day Sunday, but critical cases hit an all-time high again, deepening concerns over medical capacity amid the continued spread of the new omicron variant.The country added 6,689 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total caseload to 517,271, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Daily infections soared to a record high of 7,174 cases on Wednesday and remained above 7,000 for the following two days.Sunday's figure marked a decline from 6,977 the previous day, but it is the largest ever daily caseload for any Sunday since the pandemic began last year.Daily cases have stayed in the quadruple digits since July 7 amid growing cluster infections.The number of critically ill COVID-19 patients reached an all-time high of 894, according to the KDCA. Critical cases rose to over 400 earlier this month for the first time since end-August and have remained at a high level. The country ad

Dec 12, 2021
Coronavirus: Number of critical cases hits fresh high

Nearly 70 percent say 'Living with COVID-19' scheme has raised health risk: poll

People form a line to receive tests at a COVID-19 testing station in Seoul, Dec. 10. Yonhap Seven out of 10 South Koreans believe the government's "Living with COVID-19" strategy has elevated the risk of virus transmission, according to a poll released Saturday.The survey ― commissioned by a research team led by Prof. Yoo Myung-soon of Seoul National University's graduate school of public health ― found that 69 percent of respondents said they saw the public risk related to COVID-19 as having increased after implementation of the plan aimed at returning to normal life while treating the virus as a seasonal disease.It said 23.1 percent assessed the risk level from the government measures as "normal," while 8 percent said the risk level had not increased.The alarming increase in recent cases and the emergence of the Omicron variant in the country was not reflected in the survey conducted last month.Almost half of respondents believed that the government has not prepar

Dec 11, 2021
Nearly 70 percent say 'Living with COVID-19' scheme has raised health risk: poll

New cases below 7,000 for 1st time in 4 days; deaths hit daily record high of 80

People wait to get tested for COVID-19 at a testing center in Seoul Station, Dec. 11. Yonhap New COVID-19 infections fell below 7,000 for the first time in four days Friday as the country struggles to tackle the fast spread of the coronavirus, including the new Omicron variant.The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reported 6,977 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total caseload to 510,538. Daily infections soared to a record high of 7,174 cases Tuesday and remained above 7,000 for the following two days. The number of people waiting for hospital treatment also hit a record high of 1,508, up 250 from Thursday. Of those, 583 were patients aged 70 or above.The rate of hospital beds in use for critical patients in the capital area stood at 83.9 percent as of 5 p.m. Friday, while the national figure was recorded at 79 percent.On Monday, the government reintroduced stricter social distancing rules to contain the rapid spread of COVID-19 and the Omicron varia

Dec 11, 2021
New cases below 7,000 for 1st time in 4 days; deaths hit daily record high of 80
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