South Korea - The Korea Times

Pfizer vaccine arrives

Healthcare workers at a vaccination center in Seongdong District, Seoul, move boxes containing Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine vials, Tuesday. A total of 500,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine ― enough for 250,000 people ― arrived in Korea, the first batch of vaccines purchased by the government for 13 million people. Yonhap

Mar 25, 2021By Nam Hyun-woo

Gov't ups efforts to solve organ donation shortage

Organ donation activists hold a campaign in Jung-gu, Seoul, to encourage public participation in organ donation while calling on the government for better treatment of donors after organ procurement, Dec. 8, 2017. Korea Times file Health ministry announces comprehensive plan to boost organ donation by 2025By Lee Hyo-jin Kim Myung-seung, 58, a security guard at the Korea Airports Corp., fell unconscious on his way to work, March 1.During hospital treatment, he was declared brain dead due to heart failure. Upon his family's consent, Kim's organs ― lungs, liver, kidneys, and eyes ― were donated through the Korea Organ Donation Agency (KODA), to six patients in dire need of transplant surgery.The same month, a 54-year-old woman surnamed Kim in Busan was pronounced brain dead during nasal polyp surgery. Based on her consent form which she had submitted in 2008, her family agreed to donate her heart, lungs, liver and kidney, to five people in need.But such humanity-affirm

Mar 25, 2021By Lee Hyo-jin

Gov't ups efforts to solve organ donation shortage

New virus cases above 400 for 2nd day; virus fight hampered by loosened vigilance

A woman wearing a glove as a precaution against the coronavirus holds a vial for her test as she waits in a line at a coronavirus testing site in Seoul, Monday, March 22, 2021. APSouth Korea's daily new coronavirus cases stayed above 400 for the second straight day Thursday as warm weather and the yearlong virus battle loosened citizen's vigilance against the pandemic. The country reported 430 more COVID-19 cases, including 419 local infections, raising the total caseload to 100,276, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The country added two more deaths from COVID-19, increasing the total to 1,709. The fatality rate was 1.70 percent, the KDCA said. Daily infections rebounded to 428 Wednesday after falling to 346 on Tuesday. The daily caseload has stayed above 400 for six days in a row through Monday.To curb the pandemic in the greater Seoul area, which is home to roughly half of the country's 52 million population, the KDCA extended virus curbs, the third highest in the five-tier virus restriction that were set to expire on March 14 for another two wee

Mar 25, 2021

New virus cases above 400 for 2nd day; virus fight hampered by loosened vigilance

Many foreign residents still face mandatory COVID-19 tests

Foreign workers at Hanam Industrial Complex in in the southwestern city of Gwangju undergo COVID-19 tests at a temporary screening center in this March 15 photo. YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiForeign residents in many regions across the country are still subject to mandatory COVID-19 testing despite the state human rights watchdog's recommendation that local governments rescind their orders due to their discriminatory nature. Earlier this month, some local governments, including Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, issued administrative orders mandating coronavirus testing among all foreign workers in their jurisdictions, amid spikes in infections in the areas and at workplaces with a large number of foreign nationals. However, it drew a huge backlash from the foreign community, and Seoul has revised its order down to an advisory.However, the recommendation by the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) is not being accepted anywhere other than in Seoul.According to a foreign national, identified as Caleb, who teaches at a Gwangju-based university, his school still told him last week to take

Mar 24, 2021By Bahk Eun-ji

Many foreign residents still face mandatory COVID-19 tests

New virus cases back above 400; distancing measures likely to be extended

Health officials wearing protective suits talk at a coronavirus testing site in Seoul, Monday, March 22. APSouth Korea's daily new coronavirus cases bounced back to over 400 Wednesday as sporadic cluster infections continued at workplaces and private gatherings, spurring concerns over a resurgence in cases. The country reported 428 more COVID-19 cases, including 411 local infections, raising the total caseload to 99,846, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The country added three more deaths from COVID-19, increasing the total to 1,707. The fatality rate was 1.71 percent, the KDCA said. Daily infections rebounded after falling to 346 on Tuesday. The daily caseload stayed above 400 for the previous six days through Monday.To curb the pandemic in the greater Seoul area, which is home to roughly half of the country's 52 million population, the KDCA extended virus curbs, the third highest in the five-tier virus restriction that were set to expire on March 14 for another two weeks until March 28.Health authorities said they will decide Friday whether to ag

Mar 24, 2021

New virus cases back above 400; distancing measures likely to be extended

New virus cases back below 400; AstraZeneca shots for elderly back on track

Health officials wearing protective suits help visitors who are waiting in a line at a coronavirus testing site in Seoul, Monday, March 22. APSouth Korea's daily new coronavirus cases fell back to below 400 on Tuesday for the first time in a week amid concerns of a potential resurgence as the AstraZeneca vaccine rollout for elderly citizens began after a one-month delay over safety concerns.The country reported 346 more COVID-19 cases, including 331 local infections, raising the total caseload to 99,421, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The country added seven more deaths from COVID-19, increasing the total to 1,704. The fatality rate was 1.71 percent, the KDCA said. The daily caseload had stayed above 400 for the past six days without showing signs of letting up.To curb the pandemic in the greater Seoul area, which is home to roughly half of the country's 52 million population, the KDCA extended virus curbs, the third highest in the five-tier virus restriction that were set to expire on March 14 for another two weeks until March 28.Health authorit

Mar 23, 2021

New virus cases back below 400; AstraZeneca shots for elderly back on track

Moon gets AstraZeneca vaccine shot before joining G-7 summit in Britain

'Orders for all foreign workers to take COVID-19 tests are discriminatory'

Foreigners and citizens wait to be tested for COVID-19 at a makeshift testing center in Guro District, Seoul, Sunday. YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiThe nation's human rights watchdog has concluded that some local governments' administrative orders for all foreign workers to undergo COVID-19 testing constitute discrimination against foreigners.The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) said, Monday, that it recommended the local governments and the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters to establish and implement non-discriminatory quarantine policies.The recommendation comes after orders made by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Gyeonggi Provincial Government earlier this month received a strong backlash from foreign residents here.“The unprecedented COVID-19 situation has greatly changed perceptions of the value of equality in our society. We realized that anyone can be subject to hatred and discrimination, so it is best for our community that no one is excluded from the society's system to protect human rights,” the NHRCK said in a statement.

Mar 22, 2021By Bahk Eun-ji

'Orders for all foreign workers to take COVID-19 tests are discriminatory'

AstraZeneca vaccination to go on as planned; Moon to get jab Tuesday

Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) Commissioner Jeong Eun-kyeong speaks during a briefing at the agency office in Osong, North Chungcheong Province, Monday. YonhapBy Lee Hyo-jin Korea' s coronavirus vaccinations using AstraZeneca's doses will continue as planned, as the health authorities did not identify any causal links between reported cases of blood clotting after inoculation and the vaccine. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said Monday that the AstraZeneca vaccine, which had been under scrutiny following two cases of blood clots found in individuals who received their first shots, has no correlation with such symptoms. The authorities confirmed that public vaccinations for the second quarter will roll out as planned without major adjustments to its initial scheme. According to the KDCA, a vaccination committee consisting of medical experts and infectious disease specialists has thoroughly reviewed the correlation between blood clots and the vaccine, and it found no links between the vaccine and the blood clots detected in two people who had

Mar 22, 2021By Lee Hyo-jin

AstraZeneca vaccination to go on as planned; Moon to get jab Tuesday

Independent panel in Korea recommends continuation of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine rollout

This file illustration photo taken on March 11 shows vials of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine and a syringe in Paris. An independent panel of experts in Korea has recommended that the vaccine rollout continue as there is no correlation between blood clots found in some recipients and the product. AFPAn independent panel of experts recommended Monday that AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine rollout continue as there is no correlation between blood clots found in some recipients and the product.The recommendation came as the European Medicines Agency (EMA), the European Union's medicines regulator, assessed last week that there is no evidence suggesting a correlation between the AstraZeneca vaccine and reports of blood clots."Based on data identified at home and abroad, we've identified there is no link between the AstraZeneca vaccine and blood clots," the panel said in a statement.But the panel added there is a need to closely study causal relations between some rare cases of blood clots and the vaccine.Safety concerns over the AstraZeneca vaccine have recently mounted here as the country h

Mar 22, 2021

Independent panel in Korea recommends continuation of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine rollout

New infections in 400s for 6th day, no clear signs of slowdown in sight

Vials of the Pfizer vaccine for the coronavirus are prepared to administer at a vaccination center in Seoul, March 20. APSouth Korea's daily new coronavirus cases stayed in the 400s for the sixth day in a row Monday as cluster infections continued to pop up across the country, raising concerns over a resurgence during spring.The country reported 415 more COVID-19 cases, including 396 local infections, raising the total caseload to 99,075, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The country added one more death from COVID-19, increasing the total to 1,697. The fatality rate was 1.71 percent, the health agency said. The daily caseload slightly fell from 456 on Sunday and 452 on Saturday but shows no signs of letting up. After spiking to the 600s in February, the figure had stabilized to as low as the 300s recently.Daily infections fell to the 300s early last week, but they rebounded to the 400s on Wednesday.To curb the pandemic in the densely populated greater Seoul area, which is home to roughly half of the country's 52 million population, the KDCA extende