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South Korea reports 334 new virus cases, total now at 1,595

A ROK Army 50th Infantry Division truck fumigates roads in Daemyeong-dong area in Daegu's Nam-gu District, Feb. 27, to fend off further spread of the viral coronavirus. YonhapSouth Korea reported another daily spike in the number of new infections of the new coronavirus on Thursday, with the number of new cases expected to accelerate in the coming days as authorities started testing more than 210,000 members of a religious sect at the center of the rapid spread.The whopping 334 new cases took the nation's total infections to 1,595, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).So far, 12 people have died in South Korea from the new fast-spreading virus that emerged in China.More than half of newly confirmed cases came from a branch of a religious sect in the southeastern city of Daegu.Of the 334 new cases, 307 are in Daegu, 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, and four are in neighboring North Gyeongsang Province. The number of total infections in Daegu and North Gyeongsang stood at 1,017 and 321, respectively.People line up in front of a post office in Sinam

Feb 27, 2020
South Korea reports 334 new virus cases, total now at 1,595

Shincheonji's secrecy sparks concerns over mass infection

Gyeonggi Provincial authorities inspect a Shincheonji facility in Gwacheon, Tuesday, to seize PCs that hold lists of members of the religious group confirmed as the infection cluster for the new coronavirus. / YonhapBy Jun Ji-hyeA minor Christian sect, known as the Shincheonji Church, which has been at the heart of a surge in coronavirus cases here, is igniting concerns over a further mass infection as its worshipers tend to conceal their affiliation with the cult, even from family members, experts said Wednesday.While Korea has reported more than 1,000 COVID-19 infections so far, more than half have been traced to the Shincheonji Church in Daegu.Several cases, in which confirmed COVID-19 patients were belatedly discovered to be Shincheonji followers, have already been reported, disrupting quarantine officials' efforts to contain the virus by isolating those possibly infected in advance. According to the health authorities, an officer working in the prison service at Cheongsong in North Gyeongsang Province, near Daegu, tested positive for the virus Monday.Until the confirmation of hi

Feb 26, 2020
Shincheonji's secrecy sparks concerns over mass infection

Coronavirus patients surpass 1,000 in 37 days

Foreign tourists wearing masks tour Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul, Wednesday. The number of COVID-19 infections here surpassed 1,000, Wednesday, 37 days after the first case was reported. /Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chulBy Kim Se-jeongThe Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said Wednesday that the number of COVID-19 virus infections here has surpassed 1,000, 37 days after the first case was reported.The figure reached 1,261 as of 5 p.m., up 284 from a day earlier, with the number of deaths rising to 12 from 10.A 73-year-old man from Daegu and a member of the Shincheonji Church, a Christian sect at the center of a spike in the new coronavirus cases, was the 12th person to die. The 11th was a Mongolian national, the first foreign patient to die of the virus in Korea. The KCDC said more deaths are expected, as five patients remain in very serious condition. Among the new confirmed patients was a U.S. soldier. The United States Forces Korea said the soldier was stationed in Chilgok Camp Carroll, but visited Camp Henry in Daegu, Monday. In addition, a nursing home

Feb 26, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Coronavirus patients surpass 1,000 in 37 days

Myung Sung Church scrambling to deny Shincheonji connection

Myung Sung Church has two confirmed patients now. /Korea Times fileBy Kim Se-jeong Myung Sung Church was scrambling to defend itself Wednesday against critics who are accusing it of being connected to the controversial Shincheonji Church. This comes after one of its pastors was found to have contracted COVID-19 in Daegu, the epicenter of the outbreak in Korea that mostly affected members of the controversial religious sect.“Myung Sung Church has nothing to do with Shincheonji,” the church wrote in a statement on its website. “Nor does it have anything to do with Daenam Hospital in Cheongdo. The church will respond actively to those who make false accusations.”The pastor visited a funeral hall in Cheongdo, North Gyeongsang Province, Feb. 14, to attend a memorial ceremony for a family member of a church acquaintance. Before the pastor placed himself in quarantine Feb. 21, he attended a worship service with 2,000 congregants and had meetings with the church's leadership.Internet commenters drew a connection between the Myung Sung pastor and Shincheonji, arguing t

Feb 26, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Myung Sung Church scrambling to deny Shincheonji connection

Seoul BioHub builds future for city

Seoul BioHub, opened in October 2017, is leading the country's biomedical science industry./Courtesy of Seoul BioHub By Kim Se-jeong In the 1960s and 70s, Korea's high-end science and technology industry was led by the Hongneung region of northeastern Seoul. The area housed universities ― Korea University, Kyunghee University and the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) ― as well as engineers and scholars, who together led innovations in the developing country.Half a century later, the area is rebranding itself as the nation's center for biomedical science. The Seoul Metropolitan Government is the force behind the movement, with a vision to make the country's capital a biomedical cluster both for the nation, and for Asia. To begin, Seoul city purchased property from the Korea Rural Economic Institute ― the institute relocated itself to Naju, South Jeolla Province, in 2015 ― and transformed it into the Seoul BioHub.Upon its official launch in October 2017

Feb 26, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Seoul BioHub builds future for city

Three missing things in Daegu, coronavirus ground zero

Crowds gather on Monday to buy masks at a big market in Daegu where most confirmed coronavirus cases have been reported. YonhapBy Oh Young-jin Dr. Hakim Djaballah, former head of the Institute Pasteur Korea, raised three questions about how Korea is handling the current coronavirus epidemic, especially in Daegu that he compares to Wuhan in China's Hubei Province, the epicenter of the virus outbreak.First, he pointed to photos of large crowds waiting for hours at big markets to buy masks in Daegu. “President Moon Jae-in's government tells people not to gather because of fear of contagion, yet long queues were formed meandering round big markets to buy masks, the very basic necessity for protection,” the American virologist told The Korea Times Thursday morning from New York where he is based. Long queues of people wait to buy masks. YonhapHe cited that as sign of incompetence that, if combined with a panicky situation, could get out of hand. “I would rather military there to calm people and distribute masks,” he said. Djaballah was among the first to point out

Feb 26, 2020By Oh Young-jin
Three missing things in Daegu, coronavirus ground zero

Korea secures list of Shincheonji followers for tests on coronavirus

A woman opens the door of the Shincheonji office at Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, Feb. 25. YonhapSouth Korea said Wednesday it has received a list of 212,000 followers from minor religious sect Shincheonji and will begin conducting tests for the new coronavirus on those who have respiratory symptoms.The government is struggling to contain the fast spread of COVID-19 as the bulk of infections are linked to a Shincheonji church in the southeastern city of Daegu."(The government) secured a list of 212,000 Shincheonji followers from the sect Tuesday night and will deliver it to local governments," Vice Health Minister Kim Gang-lip told a daily press briefing in the administrative city of Sejong.South Korea has reported 1,146 confirmed cases, with 12 deaths. A 73-year-old patient, a Shincheonji follower, died of COVID-19 infection in Daegu earlier in the day.The government said Tuesday it would swiftly conduct tests for the new coronavirus on Shincheonji followers as the church had promised to provide the complete list of its worshipers.Kim also called for local governments to ban the use

Feb 26, 2020
Korea secures list of Shincheonji followers for tests on coronavirus

Concerted efforts in place to tackle blood shortage

By Park Si-soo Communities, companies and the government have joined forces to tackle the serious shortage of blood donated amid the raging coronavirus epidemic. Braving fears of the virus being amplified, they have organized blood donation campaigns across the country. Korea now has blood reserves for 4.4 days, shy of the 50,378 liters from normal five-day levels, according to the Korean Red Cross (KRC). If the level becomes “serious,” hospitals will find blood supplies severely disrupted. KRC officials said the organization is managing stocks in a more conservative way, monitoring levels at hospitals and checking scheduled surgeries.There are extreme fears of coronavirus in South Korea ― with 1,146 people infected and 11 dying (as of noon Wednesday) ― so much so that many people are not leaving their homes. This also has affected potential blood donors. KRC officials said they thoroughly check the body temperature, recent travel history and any respiratory problems of donors before taking their blood.

Feb 26, 2020
Concerted efforts in place to tackle blood shortage

Korea reports 12th coronavirus death

A worker wearing a protective suit sprays disinfectant as a precaution against new virus at a market in Seoul, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020. APSouth Korea reported its 12th fatality from the new coronavirus and 169 new confirmed cases on Wednesday, bringing the total number of infections here to 1,146. A 73-year-old man, a member of a religious sect in the southeastern city of Daegu, died of COVID-19, according to the city government.The man, who had a history of diabetes and high blood pressure, had been admitted and treated since Sunday. Shincheonji Church of Jesus, which has nearly 210,000 members across the country, has been at the center of the country's largest cluster of infections, taking up more than half of the country's confirmed cases.Two clusters of infections ― of people related to Shincheonji Church of Jesus and at a hospital in the neighboring county of Cheongdo ― have continued to expand. (Yonhap)

Feb 26, 2020
Korea reports 12th coronavirus death

Korea reports 169 new virus cases, total now at 1,146

Tourists wearing face masks walk on the street of Myeongdong in Seoul, Feb. 24. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chulSouth Korea reported 169 new cases of the new coronavirus on Wednesday, bringing the total number of infections here to 1,146 from only 51 a week ago.So far, 11 people have died in South Korea, including a 36-year-old Mongolian national who was hospitalized for a liver transplant, from the new virus that emerged in China.About 80 percent of confirmed cases came from two clusters of infections -- at a branch of a religious sect in the southeastern city of Daegu and a hospital in the neighboring county of Cheongdo.Of the 169 new cases, 153 are in Daegu, 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, and neighboring North Gyeongsang Province. Daegu counted 134 new cases and North Gyeongsang reported 19 more cases. Other major provinces and cities have also reported some infections, with Seoul reporting another four cases, the Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said in a statement.Busan, South Korea's second-largest city, reported eight new cases and Gyeonggi Pr

Feb 26, 2020
Korea reports 169 new virus cases, total now at 1,146
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