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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.

NHIS plays crucial role in battling COVID-19

Medical workers move a COVID-19 patient at the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) Ilsan Hospital in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province. Courtesy of NHISBy Bahk Eun-jiKorea has been attracting attention from the international community for its prompt and effective response to the coronavirus pandemic, setting an example for other countries to follow. At the center of the nation's unprecedented efforts to combat the virus is the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS), which has been playing a key role in the country's success in managing the COVID-19 pandemic.In emergency preparedness for medical response to the virus, there are several factors which led Korea to gain global attention ― fast and extensive testing, contact tracing, isolation, and treatment of confirmed cases. Above all, Korea's low-cost, accessible healthcare system, run by the NHIS, has drawn particular praise from medical experts at home and abroad.Medical workers prepare to carry out COVID-19 tests at a makeshift clinic set up in front of the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) Ilsan Hospital in Goyang, Gyeonggi

Jun 21, 2020By Bahk Eun-ji
NHIS plays crucial role in battling COVID-19

Coronavirus cuts church attendance, giving in S. Korea: poll

Church attendance and giving in South Korea have been sharply reduced due to the coronavirus pandemic, a survey showed on Saturday.In the survey of 1,135 member pastors of the General Assembly of Presbyterian Church in Korea, 68.8 percent said church donations have decreased due to COVID-19, while 30.1 percent said there has been no change and 1 percent said it has increased.The average decrease was 28.7 percent. Of the respondents who said they have experienced a decline in offerings, 53 percent said the amount has dropped by 20-40 percent, while 23.8 percent put the rate of decrease at less than 20 percent. In addition, 17.3 percent said they experienced a 40-60 percent decrease and 5.8 percent suffered a more than 60 percent decrease.The survey also showed 73.2 percent of metropolitan churches and 87.5 percent of churches with more than 500 adult members said the amount has decreased.During the period between March and early April, when infections spiked, attendance at in-person services dropped to an estimated 42.4 percent of the pre-pandemic level, the survey suggested. The figu

Jun 20, 2020

S. Korea on alert over second wave of cornonavirus infections in summer

South Korea, still stuck in the first wave of the coronavirus outbreak, is on alert over another potential round of virus infections in the summer, as the virus has been spreading faster than expected even during hot weather.Respiratory viruses, such as influenza, tend to wane in summer after surging in winter.But experts said they cannot rule out the possibility that the virus outbreak could resurge at any time, even before autumn, as the spread of COVID-19 here has shown no signs of a letup.The country's virus cases have been on a steady rise this month. The number of new infections reached 754 in the first 17 days of June, already surpassing 729 cases in total reported in May, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).The country reported 38 more additional cases on June 9 when the season's first heat wave advisory was issued in Seoul.South Korea has successfully flattened the virus curve, but the country has been grappling with a continued increase in cluster infections in the greater Seoul area since it relaxed social distancing in early May.A resp

Jun 20, 2020
  • S. Korea's new daily virus cases surge to 67

At least 9 passengers test positive for virus after flying in from Bangladesh

At least seven Bangladeshi nationals and two South Koreans have tested positive for the coronavirus after entering South Korea on the same flight from the South Asian country, authorities said Friday.All of the confirmed cases, including three Bangladeshi students enrolled in a Jeju university, used Korean Air flight KE9656, which landed at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, at 5:32 a.m. Thursday after departing from Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh.They then traveled to their homes or other residences around the country before taking COVID-19 tests at screening centers in Jeju, Incheon, Paju, Namyangju and North Jeolla Province, authorities said, noting epidemic research has been launched for the airplane and all of its passengers.The three students are part of a group of 18 Bangladeshis enrolled in Cheju Halla University who flew into Jeju International Airport on Thursday afternoon via the Incheon airport and Seoul's Gimpo airport to return to their campus on the southern resort island.All of the 18 students took COVID-19 tests on landing at the Jeju airport and three o

Jun 20, 2020
  • S. Korea's new daily virus cases surge to 67

S. Korea's new daily virus cases surge to 67

- S. Korea's new daily virus cases surge to 67, total now at 12,373- No additional virus deaths, death toll now at 280- 21 more people released after full recovery from coronavirus, total cured patients at 10,856South Korea added 67 new coronavirus cases Saturday, the biggest rise in a little more than three weeks, due to a fresh spike in imported cases, while the community spreads in greater Seoul and a central city outside of the capital continue unabated.The new cases mark the highest daily tally since the 79 tallied on May 23, raising the total caseload to 12,373, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).Of the new cases, 31 came from overseas and the 36 others were locally transmitted.Including the imported cases, Seoul reported 14 new cases, raising the total caseload to 1,202, with the surrounding Gyeonggi Province and Incheon logging 17 and five, respectively.The central city of Daejeon, where a new community spread has emerged, added five more cases, putting the total caseload at 72.South Korea has seen an increase in the number of infect

Jun 20, 2020
S. Korea's new daily virus cases surge to 67
  • At least 9 passengers test positive for virus after flying in from Bangladesh
  • S. Korea on alert over second wave of cornonavirus infections in summer

More Seoulites volunteer to test for virus

Students at Wadong Elementary School in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, go through COVID-19 testing at the playground, Friday, as one of the students there was confirmed to be infected. / YonhapBy Jun Ji-hyeOver 2,100 citizens of Seoul have applied for COVID-19 testing over a 10-day period even though they had no symptoms of the contagious disease, amid rising fears over the sporadic spread of infections that have continued to emerge in the densely populated capital since May, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, Friday. They are expressing concerns about possible infections spread by asymptomatic carriers.The city said a total of 2,127 citizens have applied for the city's free COVID-19 diagnostic testing program as of Thursday, since the city began offering free testing on June 8. Under the program, all residents of Seoul can receive coronavirus testing free of charge even if they have no respiratory symptoms ― they can apply for the program via the city government's website and get tested on a first-come-first-serve basis.“We expect a maximum of 1,000 people to be able t

Jun 19, 2020
More Seoulites volunteer to test for virus

Seven in 10 Koreans think their society is deeply discriminative

GettyimagesbankA majority of South Koreans think discrimination and human rights violations in the country are serious, a survey showed Friday. The National Human Rights Commission of Korea unveiled the results of its first annual survey on human rights conditions in the country, conducted with 13,077 adults across the country between August and September in 2019.Asked about the degree of discrimination in society, 13.7 percent of respondents said it is "very serious" while 55.4 percent answered "somewhat serious," 69.1 percent "serious," 29.2 percent "not serious" and 1.6 percent "not serious at all."Regarding the level of human rights violations, 54 percent said it is "serious" while 46 percent answered "not serious."As for groups they believe to be suffering most from rights violations and discrimination, 29.7 percent picked the disabled, followed by immigrants (16.4 percent), the elderly (13.4 percent) and women (13.2 percent).Regarding groups they think to be most likely to face rights violations and discrimination, 29.6 percent chose the poor class, followed by those with low l

Jun 19, 2020
Seven in 10 Koreans think their society is deeply discriminative

Seven passengers from Bangladesh test positive for coronavirus

A woman wearing a face mask walks outside of Heungnyemun gate of the 14th-century Gyeongbok Palace in Seoul, Friday, June 19, 2020. APAt least six Bangladeshi nationals and one South Korean have tested positive for the coronavirus after entering South Korea on the same flight from the South Asian country, authorities said Friday.All of the seven patients, including three Bangladeshi students enrolled in a Jeju university, used Korean Air flight KE9656, which landed at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, at 5:32 a.m. Thursday after departing from Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh.They then traveled to their homes or other residences around the country before taking COVID-19 tests at testing centers in Jeju, Incheon, Paju, Namyangju and North Jeolla Province, authorities said, noting epidemic research has been launched for the airplane and all of its passengers.The three students are part of a group of 18 Bangladeshis enrolled in Cheju Halla University, who flew into Jeju International Airport on Thursday afternoon via the Incheon airport and Seoul's Gimpo International Airpor

Jun 19, 2020
Seven passengers from Bangladesh test positive for coronavirus
  • Korea on cusp of erasing gains in virus fight, new cases still on higher plateau

Korea on cusp of erasing gains in virus fight, new cases still on higher plateau

A worker wearing protective gears and a face shield checks visitors' temperature at an exhibition & convention center in Goyang, Friday, June 12, 2020. APSouth Korea's virus fight is dragging on, with a steady rise in new virus cases and untraceable infections, along with a spike in imported cases. Health authorities warned of another possible wave of infections.The country added 49 new cases on Friday, including 32 local infections, raising the total caseload to 12,306, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).The number of new daily COVID-19 cases marks a slight slowdown from a three-week high of 59 a day earlier.Of the locally transmitted cases, 26 were reported in the densely populated Seoul and nearby metropolitan areas, around half of the country's 50-million population lives.The Seoul metropolitan area accounted for most of the newly added virus cases this month. The country has also seen an uptick in the number of infections outside of the capital region as well as in imported cases.Six cases were reported in Daejeon, some 160 kilometers so

Jun 19, 2020
Korea on cusp of erasing gains in virus fight, new cases still on higher plateau
  • Seven passengers from Bangladesh test positive for coronavirus

Going to beach? you will need reservations this summer

Haeundae Beach is crowded with visitors in this 2015 file photo. Beachgoers will need reservations this summer amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Korea Times fileBy Kim Se-jeongThose who plan to spend time at a beach this summer will have one more thing to check: whether reservations are necessary.The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said Thursday it is introducing a reservation system for the nation's beaches in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Sixteen popular beaches will now require a reservation. They are Haeundae, Gwangalli, Songdo, Dadaepo and Songjeong in Busan; Gyeongpo, Naksan, Sokcho, Samcheok, Mangsang, Maengbang, Chuam and Hajodae in Gangwon Province; Ilsan and Jinha in Ulsan; and Goraebul in North Gyeongsang Province. However, visitors to Jeju Island or South Chungcheong Province don't have to worry about making a reservation, as the system is being run on a voluntary basis and the governments of those two areas decided to take other measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. If the destination is not one of the 16 and not located in Jeju or South Chungcheong Pr

Jun 18, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Going to beach? you will need reservations this summer
  • Seoul city officials in dilemma over public swimming pools, water parks
  • Seoul to postpone opening of public swimming pools amid pandemic
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