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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.

Breakthrough cases reach 2,600, most frequent among those in 30s

Construction workers wait to get tested for COVID-19 at a makeshift clinic in Seoul, Aug. 24. YonhapSouth Korea has reported nearly 2,600 coronavirus infections involving people who tested positive for COVID-19 even after being fully vaccinated, health authorities said Tuesday.Out of more than 7.4 million people who have received the full-dose vaccine regimen, there were 2,399 breakthrough cases, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.The rate of breakthrough cases occurring in people in their 30s was the highest at 0.075 percent, with the rate decreasing among the elderly, the KDCA said. The KDCA said similar cases may increase as the country's vaccine rollout revs up, though the proportion of breakthrough cases is extremely low.Since its nationwide inoculation campaign in late February, 26.3 million people, or 51.2 percent of the population, have received their first shots of COVID-19 vaccines, and 12.28 million people have been fully vaccinated, the KDCA said.The rate of breakthrough cases occurring is 0.035 percent, and the benefits of vaccination outweigh th

Aug 24, 2021
Breakthrough cases reach 2,600, most frequent among those in 30s
  • New COVID-19 cases above 1,500, vaccinations to speed up

Doctors up in arms over bill on surveillance cameras in operating rooms

Medical personnel talk in an operating room equipped with surveillance cameras at Gyeonggi Provincial Medical Center Suwon Hospital, Monday. The provincial government has installed surveillance cameras in operating rooms at government-run hospitals. YonhapLargest doctors' group plans to file petition with Constitutional CourtBy Bahk Eun-jiDoctors are strongly protesting a contentious bill that will mandate the installation of surveillance cameras in operating rooms as a part of measures to prevent medical malpractice.Citing the possibility of the surveillance affecting doctors' surgical procedures and the leakage of video recordings, the nation's largest doctors' group said it will seek a constitutional petition if the bill is approved.Their protest came after the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee passed the revision bill to the Medical Service Act, Monday. The Assembly plans to approve it at a plenary session on Wednesday.According to the bill, hospitals must video-record medical procedures upon the patient's or guardian's request when an operation is conducted while

Aug 24, 2021By Bahk Eun-ji
Doctors up in arms over bill on surveillance cameras in operating rooms

New COVID-19 cases above 1,500, vaccinations to speed up

Workers shut down a COVID-19 testing center in Jeju, Aug. 23, after one of the workers there tested positive for the virus. YonhapSouth Korea's daily new coronavirus cases bounced back to above 1,500 on Tuesday with COVID-19 infections showing little signs of abating as health authorities strive to speed up vaccinations. The country added 1,509 more COVID-19 cases, including 1,470 local infections, raising the total caseload to 239,287, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).Tuesday's tally was compared with 1,418 on Monday, 1,628 on Sunday, 1,880 last Saturday and 2,052 last Friday. Daily cases, which have stayed above 1,000 for 49 days in a row, have typically fallen every Monday and Tuesday due to fewer tests over the weekend but jumped back up every Wednesday. The country added six more deaths from COVID-19, raising the death toll to 2,228, the KDCA said.Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum told an anti-virus meeting that the government will come up with more measures to speed up vaccinations as a recent surge in infections mainly came from

Aug 24, 2021
New COVID-19 cases above 1,500, vaccinations to speed up
  • Breakthrough cases reach 2,600, most frequent among those in 30s

Vaccine incentives cause confusion

An owner of a Chinese restaurant in Seoul's Yangcheon District posts a notice, Sunday, about vaccine incentives announced by the government that allow private gatherings of up to four including two fully vaccinated people at restaurants and cafes after 6 p.m., starting Monday. YonhapBy Jun Ji-hyeThe government's vaccine incentives, including allowing private gatherings of up to four people at restaurants and cafes after 6 p.m. if two are fully vaccinated, are causing confusion and complaints among people, as the incentives are applied only to gatherings at such locations but excluding gatherings at home.Controversy is growing as the incentives are putting people into situations where they have a greater risk of exposure to COVID-19 at crowded restaurants or cafes compared to in the privacy of a residence.The government disclosed the measure, Friday, when announcing its decision to maintain the highest Level 4 distancing rules for the Seoul metropolitan area and Level 3 for most other regions for another two weeks until Sept. 5, as the fourth wave of infections here has yet to come un

Aug 23, 2021By Jun Ji-hye
Vaccine incentives cause confusion

Couples decry strict social distancing rules on weddings

A screen installed on a truck shows a message of protest by soon-to-be married couples against the government's social distancing rules, in front of Seoul City Hall, Aug. 19. YonhapLimit on number of guests mars once-in-a-lifetime eventBy Bahk Eun-jiA wedding is one of the most important life events for an individual and their family. Soon-to-be-married couples are usually busy planning their wedding ceremony while delivering the happy news to their relatives and friends but, these days, such joy is gone and planning a wedding has become a huge headache for couples as the protracted COVID-19 pandemic and resultant social distancing rules have forced them to give up most of their plans.A major hurdle is the limit on the number of guests that may attend the ceremony.Under the national Level 3 and Level 4 social distancing regulations, the maximum number of guests at a wedding ceremony has been set at 49, excluding the bride, groom and their parents.Even before the four-tier system was introduced in July, Seoul and the surrounding metropolitan area, where the largest percentage of infec

Aug 23, 2021By Bahk Eun-ji
Couples decry strict social distancing rules on weddings

Parliamentary committee approves bill mandating surveillance cameras in operating rooms

Rep. Kim Min-seok, chief of the Health and Welfare Committee, approves a contentious bill that requires the installation of surveillance cameras in hospital rooms at the National Assembly, Aug. 23. YonhapA parliamentary committee on Monday approved a contentious bill that requires the installation of surveillance cameras in hospital rooms despite opposition from medical groups.The Health and Welfare Committee gave its nod to the bill to revise the Medical Service Act in a plenary session.The bill, if finally passed at the National Assembly's general meeting, would mandate the installation and operation of closed-circuit TV cameras in hospital operation rooms.The passage came nine months after the committee began deliberating the bill in November last year.A group of ruling party lawmakers proposed the bill two months earlier amid a growing need to provide protection to patients against medical negligence or malpractice, such as "ghost operations," conducted by unqualified doctors behind the scene, or sexual crimes committed on patients under anesthesia.The bill, however, had been pen

Aug 23, 2021
Parliamentary committee approves bill mandating surveillance cameras in operating rooms

New COVID-19 cases fall below 1,500, toughest virus curbs extended for 2 weeks

South Korea's daily new coronavirus fell below 1,500 on Monday due to fewer tests over the weekend, as health authorities extended the toughest virus curbs for another two weeks to battle the worst wave of the pandemic. YonhapSouth Korea's daily new coronavirus fell below 1,500 on Monday due to fewer tests over the weekend, as health authorities extended the toughest virus curbs for another two weeks to battle the worst wave of the pandemic.The country added 1,418 more COVID-19 cases, including 1,370 local infections, raising the total caseload to 237,782, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).Monday's tally was down from 2,052 on Friday, 1,880 on Saturday and 1,628 on Sunday.But the decline was attributable to less testing over the weekend. Daily cases, which have surged during weekdays, surpassed 1,000 on July 7 and have stayed above the mark for 48 days in a row.The country added seven more deaths from COVID-19, raising the death toll to 2,222, the KDCA said.Despite six weeks of the toughest restrictions in the greater Seoul area, the fourth wave of t

Aug 23, 2021
New COVID-19 cases fall below 1,500, toughest virus curbs extended for 2 weeks

Moderna to supply Korea with 7 million doses of vaccines over next 2 weeks: PM

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum / YonhapU.S. pharmaceutical company Moderna plans to provide South Korea with 7 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine in the coming two weeks, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said Sunday, following a supply disruption due to a production issue at the company."Moderna has notified the government that it will provide a total of 7 million vaccine doses over the next two weeks," Kim said during a daily interagency meeting on the government's coronavirus response.The announcement was made following a South Korean government delegation's visit to the headquarters of Moderna on Aug. 14 to protest a delay in the company's vaccine provision. Earlier, Moderna notified Seoul of its plan to supply less than half of the 8.5 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine scheduled for August due to a production issue.The delay in the vaccine supply raised concerns that the country's inoculation scheme for August and September may be hampered amid a recent flare-up in virus cases."The government will do its best to achieve the full vaccination of the people by procuring more vaccines

Aug 22, 2021
Moderna to supply Korea with 7 million doses of vaccines over next 2 weeks: PM
  • Korea in vaccine swap talks with Romania: foreign ministry

Korea in vaccine swap talks with Romania: foreign ministry

South Korea is in vaccine swap talks with Romania, the foreign ministry said, denying a news report that the European country plans to provide the South with coronavirus vaccines for free. YonhapSouth Korea is in vaccine swap talks with Romania, the foreign ministry said, denying a news report that the European country plans to provide the South with coronavirus vaccines for free.Romanian national news agency Agerpres reported earlier that the country decided to give South Korea 450,000 doses of Moderna's vaccine on humanitarian grounds.Seoul's foreign ministry said the two countries are in talks about vaccines but denied that vaccines will be provided for free."Reports about the Romanian government providing vaccines for free are not true," the ministry said in a text message to reporters Saturday night. "Discussions are under way between our country and Romania from the context of a vaccine swap.""The government has built trust between the two countries by providing the Romanian government with diagnosis kits and other quarantine supplies in March last year during the early months

Aug 22, 2021
Korea in vaccine swap talks with Romania: foreign ministry
  • New COVID-19 cases dip to 1,600s, virus curbs extended for 2 weeks
  • Moderna to supply Korea with 7 million doses of vaccines over next 2 weeks: PM

New COVID-19 cases dip to 1,600s, virus curbs extended for 2 weeks

South Korea's daily new coronavirus fell back to the 1,600s on Sunday due to fewer tests over the weekend, health authorities said, yet tough restrictions are to be extended to battle the fast surge of the outbreak driven by the more transmissible delta variant. YonhapSouth Korea's daily new coronavirus fell back to the 1,600s on Sunday due to fewer tests over the weekend, health authorities said, yet tough restrictions are to be extended to battle the fast surge of the outbreak driven by the more transmissible delta variant.The country added 1,628 more COVID-19 cases, including 1,590 local infections, raising the total caseload to 236,366, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).Sunday's tally was down from 2,052 on Friday and 1,880 on Saturday, the KDCA said.It also marks the first time since July 29 that the daily new cases have fallen back to 1,600s.But the decline was attributable to less testing over the weekend. Daily cases surpassed 1,000 on July 7 and have stayed above the mark for 47 days in a row.The country added 13 more deaths from COVID-19, r

Aug 22, 2021
New COVID-19 cases dip to 1,600s, virus curbs extended for 2 weeks
  • Korea in vaccine swap talks with Romania: foreign ministry
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