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Sleeping longer hours correlates with IQ: study

gettyimagesbankBy Yoon Ja-youngIf you are one of those parents making your children sit up late doing homework, you'd better think again. A study revealed that children sleeping longer hours tend to have higher IQs.According to a joint research by the Environmental Health Center at Seoul National University's College of Medicine and Kim In-hyang, a professor at Hanyang University Medical Center, six-year-old children who sleep longer scored higher in verbal IQ evaluation tests, compared with their peers who sleep less. The research is based on 538 six-year-olds who have been included in the center's cohort. Designated by the Ministry of Environment in 2008, the center has been conducting research on children in Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province to verify the correlations between the exposure to various environmental factors and the development of their physical, neurological and cognitive abilities.It showed that, the longer hours children sleep, the higher their IQ scores.This was especially the case with boys. Boys who sleep more than 10 hours a night score 10 points higher than

Jul 1, 2021By Yoon Ja-young
Sleeping longer hours correlates with IQ: study

New cases in 700s for 2nd day

Visitors wearing face masks as a precaution against the coronavirus shelter from the rain under a gate at the Gyeongbok Palace in Seoul, June 30. AP-YonhapSouth Korea's daily new virus cases remained in the 700s for the second day Thursday as the greater Seoul area is facing a potential resurgence in new infections, which led authorities to push back eased virus restrictions.The country reported 762 more COVID-19 cases, including 712 local infections, raising the total caseload to 157,723, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.The daily caseload soared to an over two-month high Wednesday due to a series of cluster infections in the wider Seoul area, home to half of the country's 51.2 million population. The latest tally is slightly down from 794 cases a day earlier.The country added three more deaths, raising the death toll to 2,021.Health authorities had initially planned to implement an eased distancing scheme across the country Thursday, such as raising the cap on private gatherings and extending business curfews.The daily caseload had appeared to be under co

Jul 1, 2021
New cases in 700s for 2nd day

Debate continues over cameras in operating rooms

This photo disclosed by the Gyeonggi Provincial Government on Oct. 2, 2019, shows surveillance camera footage of an operating room at the Gyeonggi Provincial Medical Center's Ansung Hospital. Courtesy of Gyeonggi Provincial GovernmentBy Lee Hyo-jin The continuing debate over the need to have surveillance cameras inside hospital operating rooms has resurfaced after a series of alleged medical malpractice cases during surgery made headlines recently.In May, a hospital in Incheon west of Seoul, specializing in spinal surgery was found to have allegedly allowed administrative staff to perform surgical procedures such as incisions and sutures. In early June, a hospital in Gwangju specializing in spinal procedures made it on the news after a whistleblower employee reported to police that nurses, who weren't qualified as medical practitioners, routinely performed surgery there in 2018. Police raided the hospital, but are facing difficulties identifying how the “proxy surgeries” were conducted due to a lack of evidence as the operating room was not equipped with any surveillance

Jul 1, 2021By Lee Hyo-jin
Debate continues over cameras in operating rooms

Vaccinated visitors from overseas to be exempt from 14-day quarantine starting this week

Quarantine officials guide travelers at the arrival hall of Incheon International Airport, Wednesday. YonhapVaccinated people visiting South Korea from overseas, except those from 21 high-risk nations, will be exempt from the mandatory two-week coronavirus quarantine starting this week, as officials are easing the entry restrictions to allow more family visits amid the prolonged pandemic. Starting Thursday, visitors flying in from over 150 countries can skip the quarantine if they have a document issued by South Korean consulates in their country of residence proving that they have been fully inoculated with COVID-19 vaccines, officials said. Their purpose of visit must fall under the categories of either business, academic, public service or humanitarian, such as family-related affairs. They also need to be vaccinated with either AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Moderna, Janssen, AZ Covishield, Sinopharm or Sinovac. They still need to take COVID-19 diagnostic tests before and after arrival in South Korea and will have to be quarantined if they test positive. However, visitors from 21 high-risk

Jun 30, 2021
Vaccinated visitors from overseas to be exempt from 14-day quarantine starting this week

Fears growing over virus resurgence: New cases spike to two-month high

Residents wait in long lines to receive COVID-19 testing at a temporary testing center in Daegu, Wednesday. YonhapGreater Seoul area delays easing distancing rules for 1 weekBy Jun Ji-hyeThe health authorities were on full alert Wednesday after the number of new daily COVID-19 cases here neared 800 ― the highest in over two months ― Tuesday amid continuous infection clusters being reported in the Seoul metropolitan area, according to officials. Concerns are especially growing as the spike in new daily infections came a day before the government implements a new social distancing system, such as allowing businesses to extend their operating hours and easing restrictions on social gatherings, as the administration's vaccination drive continues.Due to concerns of the eased rules increasing infection rates, local administrations in Seoul and the surrounding metropolitan area have decided to delay adopting the new system for a week. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reported 794 more coronavirus infections, 759 of which were local, raising the total caseload to 156,96

Jun 30, 2021By Jun Ji-hye
Fears growing over virus resurgence: New cases spike to two-month high

Seoul keeps 4-person cap on private gatherings

People wearing face masks as a precaution against the coronavirus walk in the rain on a street in Seoul, June 30. AP-YonhapThe greater Seoul area will hold off on implementing the central government's eased social distancing scheme by one week amid a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases in the region, officials said Wednesday, just hours before the new rules were set to take effect.The local governments of Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon had initially planned to raise the cap on private gatherings from four to six people and allow restaurants and cafes to extend their opening hours by two hours until midnight, starting Thursday.The reversal comes after Seoul registered 375 new cases Tuesday, its biggest daily increase this year, and Gyeonggi registered 240 new cases the same day.The country as a whole reported 794 cases in an over two-month high amid concern over the spread of COVID-19 variants despite nearly 30 percent of the population having received at least one shot of a COVID-19 vaccine.As of 3 p.m. Wednesday, 274 additional cases were reported in Seoul, raising the possibilit

Jun 30, 2021
Seoul keeps 4-person cap on private gatherings

New cases spike to over 2-month high

Medical workers take samples for COVID-19 at a makeshift testing center in Daegu, June 29. YonhapSouth Korea's daily new virus cases spiked to an over two-month high Wednesday as a series of cluster infections were reported in the wider Seoul area amid jitters over growing COVID-19 variant cases.The country reported 794 more COVID-19 cases, including 759 local infections, raising the total caseload to 156,961, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The latest figure was up 199 from the previous day.The country added one more death, raising the death toll to 2,018. The fatality rate was 1.29 percent.The daily caseload marks the highest since April 23, when the comparable figure was 797. The sharp rise in new virus cases came as the country is set to implement eased distancing rules starting Thursday, but there are growing concerns that the number of new infections may sharply rise down the road amid potential spread of the more contagious delta variant and loosened vigilance against the pandemic.As three-quarters of daily infections are reported in the greater Se

Jun 30, 2021
New cases spike to over 2-month high

Women's empowerment movement faces new challenges in digital era

Lee Yoo-lim, president of the Seoul branch of the YWCA, speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at Seoul YWCA headquarters in Myeong-dong, central Seoul, June 22. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-sukBy Jung Da-min The women's empowerment movement is facing new challenges in the digital era. With the fast-paced development of digital technologies, a generational shift and other social changes stemming from various factors, not least of which is the COVID-19 pandemic.Among many other factors, the pandemic situation has especially accelerated the digitization of society, as more communities have adopted contactless or remote communication methods through online channels for their routine activities. Working from home and taking online classes have become more common along with such changes, but this has had a negative impact on women's economic activities, says Lee Yoo-lim, president of the Seoul branch of the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA), a global non-governmental organization."It seems that the burden of childcare for working mothers has increased considerably since

Jun 29, 2021
Women's empowerment movement faces new challenges in digital era

Korea set to ease social distancing amid lingering concerns

Quarantine officers guide travelers from overseas at the arrival hall of Incheon International Airport, Tuesday. YonhapBy Lee Hyo-jinSocial distancing measures here will be significantly eased from Thursday as announced earlier by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, despite lingering concerns over a resurgence in COVID-19 cases and an increasing rate of infections by variants of the coronavirus. Concerns are mounting that the eased measures may lead to an increase in infections, especially among young and middle-aged people, most of whom have not been vaccinated.Also, a recent surge in cases due to new strains, including the highly-contagious Delta variant, has put the health authorities on alert. The government has so far confirmed 2,492 infections by variants ― among them, 2,075 were found to be from the Alpha strain after genetic sequencing, followed by 263 from the Delta variant. In spite of the concerns, the government is proceeding with its plan to allow more gatherings and eased mask requirements from July by introducing a new social-distancing system and vaccine incentives.Un

Jun 29, 2021By Lee Hyo-jin
Korea set to ease social distancing amid lingering concerns

21 countries to lose quarantine exemptions

gettyimagesbankSouth Korea's health authorities said Tuesday arrivals from India, Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippines and 17 other countries will not be allowed to skip a mandatory 14-day quarantine even if they are fully vaccinated amid the growing concerns over the global spread of the Delta variant. The country earlier announced its plan to allow arrivals who have been vaccinated abroad to enter South Korea without going through self-isolation starting next month. They are still required to visit South Korea only for business, academic and humanitarian purposes.Under the latest revision, however, arrivals from a total of 21 countries, also including South Africa and Bangladesh, will not be able to skip the quarantine, according to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters.On Monday, South Korea said it has confirmed 267 more cases of four kinds of contagious variants of the new coronavirus, including 73 cases of the highly transmissible Delta variant.The caseload of such infections reached 2,492, with the number of Delta cases tallied at 263. Since May, South Ko

Jun 29, 2021
21 countries to lose quarantine exemptions
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