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Anti-virus restrictions on restaurants in greater Seoul to be extended by another week

A man wearing a face mask to help curb the spread of the coronavirus walks across a pedestrian crosswalk in Seoul, Friday, Sept. 4, 2020. APSouth Korea's tougher anti-virus curbs in place in the greater Seoul area will be extended by another week, with additional measures starting Monday, as the country seeks to contain another wave of the virus outbreak in the densely populated region.The country's eight-day restrictions on restaurants, bakeries and franchise coffee chains in the wider capital region were originally set to end at midnight.But the government decided Friday to extend the virus curbs until next Sunday as cluster infections and untraceable cases continued to pop up in the Seoul metropolitan area, home to half of the country's 51 million people.The toughened distancing for the capital area came as the number of the country's daily new virus cases jumped to a near six-month high of 441 on Aug. 27.The number of its new virus infections has declined to under 200 for four straight days, but daily COVID-19 cases have been in the triple digits since Aug. 14, mostly tied to chu

Sep 6, 2020
Anti-virus restrictions on restaurants in greater Seoul to be extended by another week

New virus cases stay below 200 for fourth day

A man wearing a face mask walks near a banner displaying as a part of campaign to overcome the coronavirus in Seoul, Friday, Sept. 4, 2020. APThe number of additional new coronavirus cases in South Korea stayed below 200 for the fourth straight day on Sunday, but health authorities are staying vigilant over sporadic cluster outbreaks. The country reported 167 new COVID-19 cases, including 152 local infections, raising the total caseload to 21,177, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).South Korea has been posting triple-digit rises for more than three weeks due to cluster infections mostly tied to a slew of churches and an anti-government rally in central Seoul in mid-August.A majority of the new locally transmitted cases came from the greater Seoul area, including 63 in Seoul and 45 in the surrounding Gyeonggi Province. Incheon, west of Seoul, also reported nine cases.The number of newly identified imported cases stood at 15, with four of them detected at quarantine checkpoints at airports and harbors. The country's total number of imported cases i

Sep 6, 2020
New virus cases stay below 200 for fourth day

India becomes third country to pass 4 million coronavirus cases

A health worker takes a nasal swab sample to test for COVID-19, as a policeman stands guard in New Delhi, India, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2020. India's coronavirus cases have crossed 4 million, leading the world in new infections and deepening misery in the country's vast hinterlands where surges have crippled the underfunded health care system. APIndia has become the world's third country to pass 4 million coronavirus infections, setting a new record daily surge in cases on Saturday as the crisis shows no sign of peaking.The 86,432 new cases took India to 4,023,179 infections, third behind the United States which has more than 6.3 million and just trailing Brazil on 4.1 million.While the government has eased restrictions in a bid to revive the economy, India now has the world's fastest growing number of cases at more than 80,000 a day and the highest daily death toll at more than 1,000.The country's caseload has gone from three to four million in just 13 days, faster than the United States and Brazil.The pandemic is now spreading through rural areas which have poor health facilities but i

Sep 5, 2020
India becomes third country to pass 4 million coronavirus cases

Amid pandemic, annual campus festivals go online

Performers from Seoul's Lotte World Adventure theme park parade the streets of Daehangno in Seoul's Jongno District, October2019. The popular entertainment district is populated with theaters frequented by students of universities in the vicinity as well as tourists. YonhapAs the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly disrupted what otherwise would have been active and exciting spring and summer seasons, universities here are scrambling to find a way to resume some semblance of normalcy in the fall semester by taking annual festivals online.Most of the country's universities put off their spring festivals, hoping that a virus slowdown would allow them to be held in the fall. As the plan is unlikely to be realized amid a second wave of coronavirus infections, schools have begun to look for alternatives to in-person events.Most notably, Yonsei University and its rival Korea University in Seoul will replace their sports competition with an online game event this year.Last month, the two schools canceled the decades-long annual tradition, originally scheduled for October, as virus infection

Sep 5, 2020
Amid pandemic, annual campus festivals go online

Hospitals in scaled down mode as trainee doctors slow to return to work

Doctors head to enter the Catholic University of Korea Seoul St. Mary's Hospital College of Medicine in Seoul's Seocho District, Sept. 4, after the government and the country's association of doctors reached an agreement over national policies on educating medical students after a widespread strike by doctors, interns and residents. YonhapMajor hospitals in South Korea are running scaled down operations, as trainee doctors have yet to return to work despite an agreement reached to end their weeks-long strike, medical sources said Saturday.Large university hospitals have reduced treatments and surgeries and have restricted the number of patients they admit, as thousands of interns and residents have taken part in the walkout beginning Aug. 21, according to insiders.The latest development comes after the Korean Medical Association reached an agreement with the ruling Democratic Party of Korea and the health ministry, Friday, to end the strike in exchange for the government putting on hold its plans to increase the quota for medical students, set up new public medical schools and give m

Sep 5, 2020
Hospitals in scaled down mode as trainee doctors slow to return to work

New virus cases stay below 200 for 3rd day in South Korea

A church in Gwangju's Gwangsan-gu District is closed on Sept. 4 where two people were infected with COVID-19. They were infected after members of a family who had attended the controversial large-scale congregation in downtown Seoul in August that led to mass cluster infections of the coronavirus visited the church. Yonhap The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said Saturday that the number of new COVID-19 cases in South Korea stayed below 200 for the previous day ― the third straight ― but the health authorities said it is still too early for the country to let down its guard.The KCDC reported 168 additional infections, including 158 local ones, raising the total caseload to 21,010. The country has been posting triple-digit rises for around three weeks due to infection clusters tied to a slew of churches and an anti-government rally in central Seoul in mid-August.After keeping new cases of COVID-19 in two-digit numbers for more than five months, more than 100 cases were recorded Aug. 14 before skyrocketing to 441, Aug. 27. The number fell below 300 last Sunday.

Sep 5, 2020
New virus cases stay below 200 for 3rd day in South Korea

Doctors agree to return to work, but many issues remain unresolved

Intern and resident doctors block Minister of Health and Welfare Park Neung-hoo's path as he enters the Korea Health Promotion Institute in Seoul, Friday, to sign an agreement with Korea Medical Association President Choi Dae-zip. The KMA agreed to end a nationwide strike by doctors after the government said it would not proceed with a plan to increase admission quotas at medical schools. However, junior doctors claimed the agreement was made without consulting them. / YonhapBy Jun Ji-hyeA doctors' association agreed to end a nationwide walkout, Friday, after the government vowed to put a plan to increase admission quotas at medical schools on hold. But many issues still remain unresolved, including internal conflicts in the medical sector, raising concerns that the agreement to end the strike will not be unanimously abided by, and that further confrontation is a possibility.Korea Medical Association (KMA) President Choi Dae-zip and ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) policy committee chief Rep. Han Jeoung-ae signed an agreement at about 10 a.m. in Seoul to restart discussions on

Sep 4, 2020
Doctors agree to return to work, but many issues remain unresolved

South Korea extends tougher anti-virus curbs in greater Seoul for another week

Myeongdong streets in Seoul's Jung-gu District is busy with passers-by on Friday under the Level 2.5 social distancing guidelines that was put into effect by the central government in late August to prevent further risks of spreading COVID-19. YonhapSouth Korea on Friday decided to extend tougher anti-virus curbs on restaurants, bakeries and coffee shops in the greater Seoul area for another week, as sporadic cluster infections and untraceable cases are still popping up in the densely populated area.Since Sunday, the country began limiting operations of restaurants, bakeries and franchise coffee chains in the Seoul metropolitan area under the so-called Level 2.5 social distancing guidelines, while implementing the Level 2 measures across the country since mid-August.The toughened distancing in daily lives for the capital area, set to end Sunday, came just days after the country's daily new virus infections soared to a near six-month high of 441 on Aug. 27.Since Aug. 14, the number of new daily cases has been in triple digits, mostly traced to a conservative church in northern Seoul a

Sep 4, 2020
South Korea extends tougher anti-virus curbs in greater Seoul for another week

Self-employed, small business owners likely to benefit from new emergency handout

Ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) policy chief Han Jeoung-ae, right, joins a party meeting with DPK floor leader Kim Tae-nyeon at the National Assembly on Yeouido, Seoul, Thursday. Han also attended a meeting between top officials from the DPK and government to discuss who should receive a second round of emergency relief money following the recent surge in COVID-19 cases. / YonhapBy Yi Whan-wooThe self-employed and small business owners are likely to receive a second round of emergency relief money aimed at minimizing the economic fallout from the recent surge in COVID-19 cases.Several ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) lawmakers said Friday the two groups were tentatively selected as beneficiaries of the new emergency handout during closed-door meetings between top DPK and government officials, Thursday and Friday. The meetings were headed by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki and Dr policy chief Han Jeoung-ae. They discussed whether the government should offer the new relief fund to all households, as in the first round in May, or to selected people ba

Sep 4, 2020By Yi Whan-woo
Self-employed, small business owners likely to benefit from new emergency handout

Government likely to extend stricter social distancing rules by another week

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun presides a central disaster safety countermeasure meeting at the Government Complex Seoul in Jung-gu District on Friday to cope with COVID-19. YonhapThe government is expected to extend toughened social distancing restrictions in the greater Seoul area by another week.Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun on Friday cautioned the country against rushing to ease relevant measures, which may bring about another crisis, speaking at a daily inter-agency meeting in Seoul on the response to COVID-19."Today, (the government) is discussing (the issue of) extending social distancing (steps) across the nation, including the capital zone, and ways to adjust antivirus guidelines," Chung said.The number of confirmed cases has slightly declined recently, he added, but it has yet to enter the phase of "solid stability."He stressed the need to keep concentrating all efforts on the fight against the virus "until the tide is turned for sure."He said the government is requesting "once again" that the public support the government's campaign and have patience over restrictions on th

Sep 4, 2020
Government likely to extend stricter social distancing rules by another week
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