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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.

Gov't to focus on 'speedy' virus testing to find asymptomatic patients

Medical workers prepare to conduct COVID-19 tests at a testing station in a local healthcare center in Songpa District, Seoul, Thursday. YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiThe health authorities will engage in more preemptive efforts to search for asymptomatic COVID-19 carriers by adopting speedier testing methods and expanding the number of people being tested.By doing so, the government is trying to break transmission chains that are cropping up during people's daily lives and among local communities without any specific cases of mass infection.According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), Thursday, there were 682 coronavirus infections for Wednesday, including 646 local cases, raising the total caseload to 40,098. Among the locally transmitted cases, 251 were reported in Seoul, 201 in Gyeonggi Province and 37 in Incheon, west of Seoul. Eight additional deaths were reported, raising the toll to 564.The recent increase resulted from the seasonal factor that the coronavirus becomes more active in the winter, as well as its fast spread which is outpacing the speed of contact t

Dec 10, 2020By Bahk Eun-ji
Gov't to focus on 'speedy' virus testing to find asymptomatic patients
  • USFK service members may be first in Korea vaccinated for COVID-19
  • New cases near 700 for 3rd day

No. of COVID-19 cases surpasses 40,000 amid 3rd wave of infections

Empty ticket lines are seen at the Gyeongbok Palace in Seoul, Monday, Dec. 7, 2020. APSouth Korea's total virus caseload topped 40,000 on Thursday, about 11 months after reporting its first confirmed case in late January, as health authorities warned that the tally is expected to rise further amid the third wave of the virus infections. The country reported 682 new COVID-19 cases Thursday, raising the total to 40,098, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). South Korea confirmed its first novel coronavirus case on Jan. 20. Health authorities are concerned that the pace of the spreading virus has been accelerating in recent weeks. It took more than 80 days for the country to see its virus caseload increase from 20,000 to 30,000. However, it only took 20 days for the country to add another 10,000 cases after its tally surpassed 30,000 on Nov. 20. If the current pace persists, health experts warned that South Korea's accumulated virus cases could exceed 50,000 by the end of this year."We are in a dangerous situation since virus cases are occurring in every p

Dec 10, 2020
No. of COVID-19 cases surpasses 40,000 amid 3rd wave of infections
  • New virus cases near 700 for 2nd day
  • USFK service members may be first in Korea vaccinated for COVID-19

UN chief warns against `vaccine nationalism'

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres / ReutersSecretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Wednesday that ``vaccine nationalism'' is moving ``at full speed,'' leaving poor people around the globe watching preparations for inoculations against the coronavirus in some rich nations and wondering if and when they will be vaccinated.The U.N. chief reiterated his call for vaccines to be treated as ``a global public good,'' available to everyone, everywhere on the planet, especially in Africa. And he appealed for $4.2 billion in the next two months for the World Health Organization's COVAX program, an ambitious project to buy and deliver coronavirus vaccines for the world's poorest people.After a virtual U.N. meeting with the African Union, Guterres said at news conference that financing COVAX is the only way to guarantee vaccines will be available in Africa and other developing areas. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a high-level U.N. General Assembly meeting last week on COVID-19 that ``the light at the end of the tunnel is growing steadily brighter'' to end the pandemi

Dec 10, 2020
UN chief warns against `vaccine nationalism'
  • Canada approves Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine
  • Half of Americans have doubts about virus vaccines
  • Indonesia places risky bet on Chinese virus vaccines

New virus cases near 700 for 2nd day

People wearing face masks as a precaution against the coronavirus walk along a shopping street in Seoul, Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2020. APSouth Korea's new virus cases approached 700 for the second straight day on Thursday as new infections continued to pile up beyond the greater Seoul area, further putting health authorities on edge. The country reported 682 new virus cases, including 646 domestically transmitted ones, raising the total caseload to 40,098, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).Of the 682 new virus cases, 489 were reported in the greater Seoul area that covers Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, just west of Seoul.The figure showed a slight decrease from 686 the previous day, but it hit the third-highest mark since January, when the country's first case was reported.The number of confirmed cases hit a record high of 909 on Feb. 29. and the second-highest mark on Wednesday. Eight additional coronavirus deaths were reported, raising the death toll to 564.As the virus infections continued to rise, health authorities urged people to thoroughly follow t

Dec 10, 2020
New virus cases near 700 for 2nd day
  • No. of COVID-19 cases surpasses 40,000 amid 3rd wave of infections
  • USFK service members may be first in Korea vaccinated for COVID-19

Korea alert over spreading bird flu

GettyimagesbankSouth Korea reported yet another suspected highly pathogenic avian influenza case from a poultry farm Thursday, raising concerns that the bird flu outbreak is spreading nationwide despite enhanced measures.Authorities are investigating the suspected case in Naju, 355 kilometers south of Seoul, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The samples were gathered from a slaughter house.The farm had killed all of its 22,000 ducks to be sold at market, but they were discarded after the suspected case.Another duck farm from the same town confirmed a highly pathogenic bird flu case the previous day. If found to be seriously contagious in a test, it will become the third such case from South Jeolla Province alone.So far, South Korea has reported seven highly pathogenic avian influenza cases from poultry farms across the country, including two from Gyeonggi Province that surrounds the capital city.There were also infection cases from North Chungcheong, North Gyeongsang and North Jeolla provinces.South Korea completed the culling of more than 4 million po

Dec 10, 2020
Korea alert over spreading bird flu

Korea faces ICU bed shortage for virus patients

Workers set up containers as temporary hospital wards to accommodate COVID-19 patients on the grounds of Seoul Medical Center in Jungnang District, Seoul, Wednesday. YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiKorea is facing a shortage of intensive care unit beds (ICU) as the country has seen a sharp rise in the number of daily new COVID-19 infections. Central and local governments are struggling to come up with countermeasures, with Seoul City creating makeshift wards using containers on the grounds of city-run hospitals.According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, Wednesday, there remained only 43 ICU beds for patients in critical condition across the country as of Tuesday when 686 new coronavirus cases were confirmed. Such beds are for seriously ill patients who need respiratory and other life-support equipment to provide extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and high-flow oxygen therapy.The new infections number, the second-highest since January when the first case was reported, was up from 594 the previous day. The number of domestically transmitted cases reached 662

Dec 9, 2020By Bahk Eun-ji
Korea faces ICU bed shortage for virus patients
  • New infections near 700 despite enhanced social distancing rules

Gov't culls 2.7 million birds to curb highly pathogenic bird flu

GettyimagesbankSouth Korea said Wednesday it has destroyed around 2.7 million poultry to prevent the spread of a highly pathogenic bird flu among local farms amid growing concerns over the disease penetrating deeper into the local livestock industry.Local authorities have culled 361,000 ducks, 1.5 million chickens and 885,000 quails since Nov. 28 when South Korea reported its first farm-related case in Jeongeup, about 290 kilometers south of Seoul, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. South Korea has so far confirmed five cases of the highly pathogenic avian influenza from poultry farms nationwide. The country is currently studying two suspected cases as well.The cases came from different regions, ranging from Gyeonggi Province, which surrounds Seoul, to South Jeolla Province.Authorities cull poultry within a 3-km radius of infected farms. Birds at farms with suspected cases are also destroyed.The country reported its first highly pathogenic case in 32 months in late October in Cheonan, 92 kilometers south of Seoul, from wild birds. Since then, a whopping

Dec 9, 2020
Gov't culls 2.7 million birds to curb highly pathogenic bird flu

PM declares all-out fight against virus spread in greater Seoul area

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun / YonhapPrime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said Wednesday that the government will concentrate "all of its capabilities" on countering the rapid spread of COVID-19 in and around Seoul. "(The government) will focus all of its capabilities (in the greater Seoul area)," he said, stressing the significance of turning around the situations in the region where around half of South Korea's 52-million population reside."The trend of COVID-19 spreading in the capital region is very serious," he said during a government meeting of top officials in charge of dealing with the pandemic.The meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters was held at the provincial government office of Gyeonggi Province in Suwon, 45 kilometers south of Seoul.Since Tuesday, the government has imposed the second-toughest curbs of the five-tiered virus restriction system in Seoul and the nearby city of Incheon and Gyeonggi Province, which have experienced a rapid climb in new cases, and mid-level restrictions in the rest of the country.Chung said the government is meticu

Dec 9, 2020
PM declares all-out fight against virus spread in greater Seoul area
  • New infections near 700 despite enhanced social distancing rules

New infections near 700 despite enhanced social distancing rules

A outdoor shopping street remains vacant amid fears of the coronavirus in Seoul, Monday, Dec. 7, 2020. APSouth Korea's new virus cases neared 700 on Wednesday on soaring community infections despite the toughened social distancing measures.The country reported 686 new virus cases, including 662 domestically transmitted ones, raising the total caseload to 39,432, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).The figure showed a sharp rise from 594 the previous day and 580 on Monday, hitting the second-highest mark since January when the first case was reported. Four additional coronavirus deaths were reported, raising the death toll to 556.The social distancing Level 2.5, the second-highest level under the five-tier scheme, went into effect Tuesday in the greater Seoul area, covering Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, west of Seoul.In other areas, the third-highest level of 2 was applied. Under the boosted guidelines to be effective till Dec. 28, a slew of measures have been taken to prevent people from gathering and traveling across the country.Health officials said

Dec 9, 2020
New infections near 700 despite enhanced social distancing rules
  • PM declares all-out fight against virus spread in greater Seoul area
  • Korea faces ICU bed shortage for virus patients

Korea confirms another case of highly pathogenic bird flu from farm

South Korea on Tuesday confirmed this year's fifth case of highly pathogenic bird flu linked to poultry farms, as authorities warned of possible nationwide spread of the disease. The latest case came from a quail farm in Eumseong, about 130 kilometers south of Seoul, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs. The farm was raising 726,000 birds.The local government plans to destroy birds within a 3-kilometer radius of the infected farm in the North Chungheong Province county.Authorities have mandated a 48-hour standstill on all poultry farms in the province since Monday."With sources of infection spreading around wintering sites of migratory birds all over the country, there is a high risk of avian influenza (AI) outbreak if farms do not take sufficient disinfection and prevention measures," a ministry official said.The country's first farm-related case of this year came from Jeongeup, 290 kilometers south of Seoul, on Nov. 28, followed by a second case in Sangju, 270 kilometers southeast of the capital city last week.The third confirmed case was from a duck fa

Dec 8, 2020
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