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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.

S. Korea unveils plasma treatment guidelines in fight against coronavirus

South Korean health authorities on Thursday unveiled blood collection guidelines for plasma therapy of the novel coronavirus patients. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) advised doctors to collect blood plasma from COVID-19 survivors, 14 days after they were declared virus-free and released from quarantine. The therapy involves infusions of antibody-rich plasma from those who have recovered from the novel coronavirus. Plasma, usually yellow, is the liquid portion of blood that remains after blood cells and platelets are removed. Under the guidelines, plasma donors need to be retested for COVID-19 before donation to make sure they no longer carry the virus. People aged between 17 and 69 are eligible for plasma donations, according to the KCDC, although those aged 65 or older need to have a blood donation record between the ages of 60 and 64.The KCDC said doctors will determine whether donors' plasma is eligible for use after analyzing hemoglobin levels and their medical records of underlying diseases. However, health authorities said they will not use the bloo

Apr 16, 2020
S. Korea unveils plasma treatment guidelines in fight against coronavirus

A look inside life in quarantine

View from my window. No kids playing outside and no cars in sight.By Jane HanSEATTLE ― It's a weird feeling to be grounded as an adult.I'm more than three weeks into this life of pseudo-lockdown and it still feels weird to be confined to my house, strongly discouraged to do the most ordinary and mundane activities I used to do outside. After staying in ― as ordered by the federal and state governments ― for two long weeks, I entered the outside world for the first time today to pick up some much-needed groceries. The spring sun felt so bright and warm on my face. Two weeks was apparently enough time for Seattle's infamous rainy season to be replaced with an entirely new season full of blooming flowers.It almost felt surreal to be outside in daylight and driving the empty streets of my neighborhood, which is usually laced with bustling cars all morning.Traffic was non-existent, so the drive to Whole Foods Market was a breeze. But oddly, traffic began at the store, with a long line of people waiting their turn to get in stretching out the door. I've heard and read plenty about long lin

Apr 16, 2020
A look inside life in quarantine

Korea proves elections can be safely held despite pandemic

A health official disinfects a polling station at Chungwoon Elementary School in Seoul, Tuesday, a day before the parliamentary elections. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-sukBy Jung Min-hoWhile many countries are still under some form of movement restriction to slow the spread of COVID-19, Korea has proved that elections can be safely held despite the global pandemic.For three days ― April 10, 11 and 15 ― 29,128,040 people, or 66.2 percent of eligible voters, cast their ballots across the country. Meanwhile, daily new virus cases remained under 50.To protect public health and democracy at the same time, the government devised measures including instructing voters to wear masks and stand at least one meter apart while waiting. They were also asked to have their temperatures checked and put on plastic gloves before voting. So far, there has been no report of infection from polling stations.This is even more surprising given that people who had been ordered to isolate themselves over virus concerns were not excluded from voting if they showed no symptoms, and about 13,000 of them indeed e

Apr 16, 2020By Jung Min-ho
Korea proves elections can be safely held despite pandemic

New coronavirus cases stay below 30 for 4th straight day

 South Korea's new coronavirus cases hovered below 30 for the fourth straight day Thursday, but health authorities are still staying vigilant over imported cases and cluster infections following the parliamentary elections the previous day. The 22 new cases, detected Wednesday and slightly down from 27 a day ago, brought the nation's total infections to 10,613, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).Thursday's new virus cases also mark a sharp drop from the Feb. 29 peak of 909 new cases. The country's daily number of new virus cases has been below 50 for the last eight days.But health authorities remain on high alert over new cases coming from overseas, as well as cluster infections at churches and hospitals. They are also keeping an eye on those who retested positive for COVID-19. Of the 22 new cases, half of them were from overseas.The nation's death toll from the new coronavirus, which emerged in China late last year, rose by four to 229, according to the KCDC.The number of patients released from quarantine after making full recoveries reache

Apr 16, 2020
New coronavirus cases stay below 30 for 4th straight day
  • S. Korea on alert over possible rise in virus cases after election

South Korea publishes guidebook on coronavirus response

Korea's second guidebook about its response to the coronavirus pandemic / YonhapSEOUL, April 15 (Yonhap) ― The South Korean government has published a second guidebook about its internationally acclaimed response to the coronavirus pandemic. The Ministry of Economy and Finance said Wednesday that the 90-page English-language document, titled "Flattening the curve on COVID-19," aims to share with the world the nation's social distancing guidelines, technology-powered testing, tracing and treatment, as well as measures to utilize data in fighting the virus.The publication follows the first volume that the government published late last month at the request of the World Bank.The latest one focuses on how the country has harnessed information and artificial intelligence technologies to combat COVID-19, the ministry said."We have issued the second policy material as foreign countries have requested practical and detailed information on Korea's response," said Lee Dae-joong, director of development financing at the ministry. "There are also inquiries from abroad about remote education and

Apr 15, 2020
South Korea publishes guidebook on coronavirus response

Korea's new virus cases fall below 30 for third day

A worker sprays disinfectant as a precaution to curb the spread of the new coronavirus ahead of the early voting at a local polling station in Seoul, Thursday, April 9, 2020. APSouth Korea recorded fewer than 30 new cases of the novel coronavirus for the third day in a row Wednesday, as the nation is facing the fourth week of strict social-distancing restrictions to slow the spread of the highly contagious virus.The 27 new cases, which were detected Tuesday and compared with 27 on Monday and 25 on Sunday, brought the nation's total infections to 10,591, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).South Korea recorded around 50 or fewer daily new cases over the past week, a sharp drop from the Feb. 29 peak of 909 new cases. But health authorities remain on high alert over cluster infections at churches and hospitals, as well as new cases coming from overseas. The nation's death toll from the coronavirus, which emerged in China late last year, rose by three to 225, according to the KCDC. In total, 7,616 people in South Korea have recovered from the vir

Apr 15, 2020
Korea's new virus cases fall below 30 for third day

Trump cuts off WHO funding

U.S. President Donald Trump listens during a meeting with healthcare executives, in the Cabinet Room of the White House, Tuesday, April 14, 2020, in Washington. APU.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he was cutting off U.S. payments to the World Health Organization during the coronavirus pandemic, accusing the organization of failing to do enough to stop the virus from spreading when it first surfaced in China.Trump, who had telegraphed his intentions last week, claimed the outbreak could have been contained at its source and that lives could have been saved had the U.N. health agency done a better job investigating the early reports coming out of China. ``The WHO failed in its basic duty and must be held accountable,'' Trump said at a briefing. He said the U.S. would be reviewing the WHO's actions to stop the virus before making any decision on resuming aid. There was no immediate comment from the Geneva-based organization on Trump's announcement. But when asked about possible U.S. funding cuts during a regular U.N. briefing earlier Tuesday, WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris

Apr 15, 2020
Trump cuts off WHO funding

NHIS worker named 'unsung hero' in fight against COVID-19

Kweon Bong-gi / Courtesy of National Health Insurance ServiceBy Kang Seung-wooKweon Bong-gi, a manager of the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS), has been named the first unsung hero by Cheong Wa Dae for his sacrifice amid the coronavirus crisis.According to the NHIS, Kweon was one of the first volunteers to work at a screening center in Daegu, Korea's COVID-19 hot spot, starting late February. From Feb. 28 to March 12, Kweon was in charge of a screening center there, helping to ensure sample collection went smoothly. Following his commitment in Daegu, he had to self-quarantine for 14 days in accordance with the government's guidelines. However, as the virus showed no signs of abating in Daegu and the surrounding North Gyeongsang Province, more staff were needed to handle the snowballing number of COVID-19 patients.As soon as his self-quarantine period was over, March 25, Kweon headed back to Daegu, where he volunteered until April 5. While serving for the screening center, he and other NHIS workers paid for a banner thanking medical staff and all volunteers for their devotion.

Apr 14, 2020By Kang Seung-woo
NHIS worker named 'unsung hero' in fight against COVID-19

Police arrest man for violating self-isolation rules

A Seoul court on Tuesday issued an arrest warrant for a South Korean man on charges of violating self-isolation rules, the first formal detention of an alleged quarantine offender. YonhapA Seoul court on Tuesday issued an arrest warrant for a South Korean man on charges of violating self-isolation rules, the first formal detention of an alleged quarantine offender.The Seoul Eastern District Court approved the police's request to arrest a 68-year-old man who went outside despite being under coronavirus-related self-isolation.The court cited a high risk of him fleeing and the severity of allegations against him.The resident, who has tested negative for COVID-19 in the southeastern ward of Songpa, is alleged to have visited a spa and a restaurant though he was under two-week self-isolation after arriving here last week, according to the police.Earlier, the South Korean police said they would deal with self-isolators in a "stern" manner and probe whether self-isolation violators repeatedly breached the rules, attempted to hide their itinerary or came in contact with other people.Police h

Apr 14, 2020
Police arrest man for violating self-isolation rules

Gov't vows support for vaccine and therapy developers

President Moon Jae-in attends a meeting on COVID-19 treatment and vaccine development at the Institut Pasteur Korea in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, Thursday./ YonhapBy Kim Se-jeong The government promised Tuesday to give comprehensive support to local companies developing vaccines or drugs to combat COVID-19 to help them become among the first to produce a treatment for the novel coronavirus.It said drugs for treatment and vaccines would be available as early as next year.“Developing treatments and vaccines is a challenge we must overcome in order to stay safe from COVID-19,” said Yoon Tae-ho, a senior health ministry official in charge of quarantine efforts against the pandemic, during a press conference. Yoon said the National Institute of Health and local pharmaceutical company, Celltrion, were working on an antiviral medicine for coronavirus patients. “They are aiming to start clinical trials for an antiviral drug sometime this year, and if that happens, the medicine could be on the market as early as next year,” he said. “When it comes to plasma the

Apr 14, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Gov't vows support for vaccine and therapy developers
  • Korean pharma, biotech in race for COVID-19 treatment
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