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From eateries to restrooms: denied necessities amid widening digital divide

Concerns rise over the widening digital divide as “digitally disadvantaged” people continue to experience difficulties accessing self-service kiosks and QR code-related services at many public facilities such as eateries and now, possibly, restrooms. / gettyimagesbankBy Park Han-solA long line of women clutching their smartphones, each with unique QR codes on their screens, as they wait for a bathroom cubicle to become vacant, may be a scene the country will witness in the near future as the state-run Korea Land & Housing Corp. (LH) pushes for the installation of a digital access system at women's restrooms.LH announced its plan last month to introduce QR code scanners at women's restrooms in parks and public buildings as part of its efforts to tackle spycam crimes, a nationwide phenomenon that has sparked outrage in recent years. According to the plan, women can receive a one-time QR code acting as a virtual ID via a certified smartphone app, which can then be digitally scanned at the entrance.Those who cannot or do not wish to gain access via QR code can either use

Oct 23, 2020By Park Han-sol
From eateries to restrooms: denied necessities amid widening digital divide

Drug makers flock to Korea for contract manufacturing

A GC Pharma employee looks into equipment producing a COVID-19 plasma treatment at the company's plant in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, in this undated file photo. Courtesy of GC Pharma By Nam Hyun-wooKorea is emerging as a go-to country for global drug makers seeking the contract manufacture of their COVID-19 vaccines, with major players signing deals reserving production capacity, industry officials said Friday.According to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), an agreement has been signed with Korea's GC Pharma to reserve vaccine manufacturing capacity as part of its goal to produce 2 billion doses of a COVID-19 vaccine by the end of 2021 for global distribution. CEPI is an alliance to finance and coordinate the development of new vaccines to prevent and contain infectious disease epidemics. Under the terms of the agreement, GC Pharma will reserve manufacturing capacity for COVID-19 vaccines which will be designated by CEPI from Marc

Oct 23, 2020By Nam Hyun-woo
Drug makers flock to Korea for contract manufacturing

Prime minister orders probe into deaths after vaccination

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun speaks during a central disaster and safety counter-measure meeting regarding COVID-19 and nationwide influenza vaccination at Government Complex Seoul in Jongno District, Friday. YonhapPrime Minister Chung Sye-kyun on Friday called for a thorough probe into the deaths of people after being vaccinated against seasonal influenza.As of midnight Thursday, 30 people have died after inoculation, but health authorities found no direct links between the vaccine and fatalities."I offer my deep condolences to the bereaved families," Chung said at a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters."The authorities should thoroughly investigate the causal relationship between vaccinations and the deaths, and make public the development transparently."He noted the public remains nervous despite experts' denial of the connection between the deaths and flu shots. "I call on the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) to closely consult experts and do its best to take sufficient measures and explain swiftly so that people can receive va

Oct 23, 2020
Prime minister orders probe into deaths after vaccination

New virus cases spike to over 150 as cluster infections pile up

Students at a middle school in Gwangju's Gwangsan District go through a COVID-19 infection test, Friday, after one of the students was tested positive to the coronavirus as a result of local cluster infections. YonhapSouth Korea's new coronavirus cases bounced back to an over one-month high Friday as sporadic cluster infections at senior care hospitals and other risk-prone facilities continued to increase.The country added 155 more COVID-19 cases, including 138 domestic infections, raising the total caseload to 25,698, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).New virus cases stayed above 100 for the second straight day and marked the highest since Sept. 11 when the number of daily virus infections hit 176.The number of daily local infections also was the largest since Sept. 17 when the figure reached 145.The uptick in daily new virus cases was largely attributable to continued cluster infections at hospitals and facilities for the elderly, deemed vulnerable to COVID-19.The country's new virus infections have been on a downward trend after a flare-up in the

Oct 23, 2020
New virus cases spike to over 150 as cluster infections pile up

Fears over flu vaccine spread amid more deaths

Jeong Eun-kyeong, chief of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, answers questions over concerns about the safety of seasonal flu shots during a National Assembly Health and Welfare Committee audit of the agency, Thursday. Yonhap By Bahk Eun-jiPublic fear is escalating over the safety of the seasonal flu vaccination after a series of deaths among people who had recently received the vaccination, although the health authorities have said there was no connection.As of 4 p.m., Thursday, the number of deaths nationwide of people who had been vaccinated against the seasonal influenza increased to 25, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). An increasing number of elderly people here are expressing concerns over the vaccination as most cases were in this age group, although the KDCA repeated that the deaths were not associated with the flu shots.In addition to the death of a man in his 70s who received the flu vaccine in Incheon, we

Oct 22, 2020By Bahk Eun-ji
Fears over flu vaccine spread amid more deaths

Mass infections at rehabilitation hospitals push daily cases over 100 again

A healthcare worker walks past Namcheon hospital in Gunpo, Gyeonggi Province, where eight new infections were recorded on Thursday, bringing the total to 12. / Yonhap. By Lee Hyo-jin Korea's daily new COVID-19 case numbers have bounced up to over 100 for the first time in a week due mainly to sporadic infection clusters at rehabilitation hospitals, raising concerns about the recently eased social distancing measures, Thursday.The country added 121 new cases for Wednesday, including 104 local transmissions, bringing the total caseload to 21,944, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). It is the first time in a week that the daily number has reached triple digits, more than double the benchmark 50 level for maintaining Level 1 social distancing rules.The government had relaxed social distancing measures to the lowest level on Oct. 12 in the belief that the virus situation was stabilizing following two months of tightened quarantine measure

Oct 22, 2020By Lee Hyo-jin
Mass infections at rehabilitation hospitals push daily cases over 100 again

Brazil's president rejects Chinese coronavirus vaccine

Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro looks on during the COVID-19 Clinical Study Result Announcement Ceremony at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil, Oct. 19, 2020. ReutersBrazil's President Jair Bolsonaro rejected the announced purchase of 46 million doses of a potential vaccine against COVID-19 being developed by a Chinese company and tested in the state governed by his political rival, prompting concern he was allowing politics to steer public health decisions. ``The Brazilian people will not be anyone's guinea pig,'' Bolsonaro said on his social media channels, adding that the shot is yet to complete testing _ which is true of all potential vaccines. ``My decision is to not purchase such a vaccine.''Brazil's health minister Eduardo Pazuello had announced the purchase on Tuesday in a meeting with Sao Paulo's Gov. Joao Doria, a foe of Bolsonaro's whose state is participating in the vaccine's development through its Butantan Institute. The cost of the acquisition was estimated at 2 billion reais ($360 million).``Butantan's vaccine will be Brazil's vaccine,'' Pazuello said.A Brazili

Oct 22, 2020
Brazil's president rejects Chinese coronavirus vaccine

AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine trial Brazil volunteer dies

A test tube labeled with the vaccine is seen in front of AstraZeneca logo in this illustration taken, Sept. 9, 2020. ReutersBrazilian health authority Anvisa said on Wednesday that a volunteer in a clinical trial of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University had died but added that the trial would continue. Oxford confirmed the plan to keep testing, saying in a statement that after careful assessment "there have been no concerns about safety of the clinical trial." AstraZeneca declined to comment immediately. A source familiar with the matter told Reuters the trial would have been suspended if the volunteer who died had received the COVID-19 vaccine, suggesting the person was part of the control group that was given a meningitis jab. The Federal University of Sao Paulo, which is helping coordinate phase 3 clinical trials in Brazil, said an independent review committee had also recommended the trial continue. The university earlier confirmed the volunteer was Brazilian but gave no further personal details. "Everything is proceeding as expected, without any rec

Oct 22, 2020
AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine trial Brazil volunteer dies

Flu shot program to continue despite rising suspected deaths: authorities

Jeong Eun-kyeong, director of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, speaks during a parliamentary hearing at the National Assembly, Thursday. YonhapSouth Korea's health authorities reaffirmed Thursday that the state-initiated seasonal flu shot program will continue despite more suspected deaths.As of noon Thursday, at least 17 people have died after being vaccinated in recent days, up from eight a day ago. The country has been pushing for a state free flu shot scheme to inoculate some 19 million people, including teenagers and senior citizens, to curb the possible "twindemic.""There were more reported cases of death; yet, it is the experts' opinion that there is no direct link between the deaths and the vaccination," Jeong Eun-kyeong, director of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), said during a parliamentary hearing. Jeong further said a thorough investigation is under way to find the exact cause of their deaths, as well as epidemiological investigations, including autopsies, into nine cases.Of them, two deaths may be related to anaphylaxis shock, a se

Oct 22, 2020
Flu shot program to continue despite rising suspected deaths: authorities

Japan researchers show masks do block coronavirus

A woman wearing a mask walks past two men smoking at an alley by a street in Tokyo on Oct. 21, 2020. AFPJapanese researchers showed that masks can offer protection from airborne coronavirus particles, but even professional-grade coverings can't eliminate contagion risk entirely. Scientists at the University of Tokyo built a secure chamber with mannequin heads facing each other. One head, fitted with a nebulizer, simulated coughing and expelled actual coronavirus particles. The other mimicked natural breathing, with a collection chamber for viruses coming through the airway. A cotton mask reduced viral uptake by the receiver head by up to 40% compared to no mask. An N95 mask, used by medical professionals, blocked up to 90%. However, even when the N95 was fitted to the face with tape, some virus particles still sneaked in. When a mask was attached to the coughing head, cotton and surgical masks blocked more than 50% of the virus transmission. "There was a synergistic effect when both the virus receiver and virus spreader wore masks," the researchers wrote in a study published on Wedne

Oct 22, 2020
Japan researchers show masks do block coronavirus
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