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Korea to conduct 100-day intensive inspection into seafood imports on Fukushima woes

An official checks radiation levels of fish to be sold at a fish market in Daegu, Aug. 28. YonhapKorea on Monday launched a special inspection into the marking of country of origin for imported seafood products to dispel public safety concerns following Japan's release of contaminated water from its crippled nuclear power plant, the oceans ministry said.On Thursday, Japan began releasing "treated" radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the ocean amid concerns and opposition raised by its fishing population and neighboring countries.The 100-day intensive inspection is meant to check if importers, distributors and retailers properly mark the origin of major seafood items coming from overseas, such as scallops, sea bream and sea squirts, Vice Oceans Minister Park Sung-hoon said during a regular briefing on the Fukushima issue."The government has been monitoring the country of origin marking all year round. But we will carry out a special probe on an unprecedented level as concerns are growing over the distribution system of Japanese and other imported seafood," Pa

Aug 28, 2023

Korea to conduct 100-day intensive inspection into seafood imports on Fukushima woes

Korea to toughen tests on farmed seafood amid Fukushima woes

This photo shows seafood products displayed at a shop inside Noryangjin Fish Market in Seoul, Aug. 22. YonhapKorea will strengthen radiation tests on farmed seafood to help ease public concerns following Japan's release of contaminated water from its crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant, the oceans ministry said Friday.Japan began releasing "treated" radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the ocean Thursday amid concerns and opposition raised by its fishing population and neighboring countries."The government will significantly expand tests on farmed seafood before they are shipped by mobilizing private institutions," Vice Oceans Minister Park Sung-hoon told a regular press briefing on the Fukushima issue.The government has conducted radiation tests on farmed seafood since 2011, and it will launch the intensive testing next week to meet growing demand for testing by those in the aquaculture industry and to ensure the safety of seafood, he added.The government will more than double the number of tests to be conducted by year-end to 4,000 after taking samples f

Aug 25, 2023

Korea to toughen tests on farmed seafood amid Fukushima woes

Korea to downgrade COVID-19's infection level to lowest Aug. 31

A medical worker carries out COVID-19 testing at a local public health center in Daegu, Wednesday. YonhapBy Jun Ji-hyeHealth authorities have decided to downgrade the COVID-19 infection classification level to the lowest, Class 4, from the current Class 2 on Aug. 31, as the virus situation has stabilized, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) Commissioner Jee Young-mee said Wednesday.The decision means that the government will manage the infectious disease like seasonal flu, lift nearly all antivirus curbs and stop counting the number of daily new cases that have continued for the past three years and seven months. Instead, the government will shift its focus to protecting high-risk groups of people such as the elderly. “We have decided to manage COVID-19 within the general healthcare system, as the risk of the disease has decreased to the flu level for healthy people,” Jee said during a government meeting. “In addition, we have secured sufficient medical capabilities to cope with the disease.”Jee noted that the number of daily new virus cases, wh

Aug 23, 2023By Jun Ji-hye

Korea to downgrade COVID-19's infection level to lowest Aug. 31

Korea's COVID-19 cases drop for 1st time in 2 months

People wait in line to take tests at a makeshift COVID-19 testing center in Yongsan District, Seoul, Aug. 14. YonhapKorea's new coronavirus cases dropped last week to snap seven consecutive weeks of growth, government data showed Monday, encouraging health authorities to resume their plans to lift all virus curbs.The country reported a daily average of 40,400 new infections for the week of Aug. 15-21, down 17.7 percent from 49,000 a week earlier, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).The cases had been on the rise since the fourth week of June.The number of COVID-19 deaths fell 11 percent on-week to 130, it added."The summer wave has entered a downside cycle after a seven-week rally, and the epidemic is slowing," a KDCA official said.With the slowdown in daily coronavirus cases, the KDCA is considering announcing its road map to lift all antivirus curbs and fully return to pre-pandemic normalcy later this week. It includes measures to lower the disease level of COVID-19 by two notches and remove all mask mandates at hospitals and nursing homes as part of

Aug 21, 2023

Korea's COVID-19 cases drop for 1st time in 2 months

Korea likely to downgrade COVID-19 on par with seasonal flu this month

A medical worker takes a sample from a citizen at a makeshift COVID-19 testing station in Yongsan District, Seoul, Aug. 20. YonhapKorea is likely to downgrade the infection level of COVID-19 to the lowest category on par with seasonal flu this month, health officials said Sunday, in a step to lift all antivirus curbs and fully return to pre-pandemic normalcy.Currently, the infection level of COVID-19 in Korea is categorized as Class 2, on par with chickenpox or measles. If the level is lowered to Class 4, or the lowest level, the virus will be on par with the seasonal flu. Health authorities plan to hold a meeting on Monday, and they are expected to announce the planned downgrade of the COVID-19 infection level on Wednesday, officials said. But the exact timing of when the adjustments would take effect could change depending on what the government and experts decide to do in terms of protection of high-risk patients and medical support for infected patients, officials said. From Aug. 6 to 12, Korea reported 349,279 new infections, up by 0.8 percent from the previous week. The rate of

Aug 20, 2023

Korea likely to downgrade COVID-19 on par with seasonal flu this month

Korea's weekly virus cases rise for 7 straight weeks, but pace slows down

A medical worker takes a sample from a citizen at a makeshift COVID-19 testing station in Seoul, Aug. 1. YonhapKorea's new coronavirus cases increased for the seventh consecutive week last week, but the rate of growth slowed, health authorities said Wednesday.The country reported 349,279 new infections for the week of Aug. 6-12, up 0.8 percent from a week earlier, with around 50,000 people infected with the virus per day, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).The weekly figure has been on a steady rise since the fourth week of June, but its on-week increase dropped to 0.8 percent from 35.8 percent three weeks ago and from 23.7 percent two weeks ago.The number of COVID-19 deaths surged 40.2 percent on-week to 136 over the cited period, while the number of critically ill patients jumped 21.5 percent to 215.Amid the recent surge in daily coronavirus cases, the KDCA has postponed its plan to lift all antivirus curbs and fully return to pre-pandemic normalcy. It had planned to lower the disease level of COVID-19 by two notches and lift all mask mandates at ho

Aug 16, 2023

Korea's weekly virus cases rise for 7 straight weeks, but pace slows down

No. of malaria patients tops 500, already exceeding last year's total

By Jun Ji-hyeThe number of malaria patients has already surpassed 500 this year, raising concerns as the figure already exceeded last year's total at 420. Anopheles mosquito which can transmit malaria / Courtesy of Korea Disease Control and Prevention AgencyMalaria is a serious and sometimes fatal mosquito-borne disease resulting in high fever, shaking chills and flu-like symptoms.According to the latest data offered by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), the number of malaria patients reported here since Jan. 1 stood at 509 as of Tuesday. At this rate, the number could reach 700 at the end of the year, health authorities said, urging citizens to heighten their safety measures against the disease. The last time when the number of malaria patients exceeded 700 was 2011.The figure exceeded 600 only three times in 2014, 2015 and 2016. Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number stayed comparatively low at 385 in 2020, 294 in 2021 and 420 in 2022, apparently because many people stayed indoors due to concerns of infection. The KDCA issued a malaria aler

Aug 16, 2023By Jun Ji-hye

No. of malaria patients tops 500, already exceeding last year's total

Korea to elevate garden crops as globally recognized 'K-exports'

Strawberries / Courtesy of Rural Development AdministrationStrawberries, grapes, peaches and persimmons gain popularityBy Lee Kyung-minKorea plans to bolster locally grown horticultural crops, otherwise known as garden crops, as high-quality, healthy and fresh produce, an agriculture ministry-affiliated institute said Monday.Underpinning the efforts of the Rural Development Administration (RDA) is the soaring worldwide popularity of Korean cultural products, K-pop, film and other entertainment industries extending to Korea-made food and snacks. Exports of agricultural products stood at an all-time high of $8.82 billion (11.5 trillion won) last year, a 3.1 percent year-on-year increase led in significant part by 39 horticultural crops making the list of top 50 agricultural export items. Among the 39 crops are strawberries, grapes, peaches and persimmons.Strawberries are one of the most popular export items, having generated explosive growth, a feat achieved in less than 20 years since locally-produced strawberry varieties first outnumbered imported ones.Korea paid over 3 billion won i

Aug 13, 2023By Lee Kyung-min

Korea to elevate garden crops as globally recognized 'K-exports'

Korea postpones plan to ease virus curbs amid recent COVID-19 surge

A medical worker takes a sample from a citizen at a makeshift COVID-19 testing station in Seoul, July 31. YonhapKorea said Monday that it will postpone its plan to ease all kinds of anti-virus curbs and fully return to pre-pandemic normalcy due to a recent surge in COVID-19 infections."We were going to announce plans to lower the disease level of COVID-19 to Class 4 and lift all mask mandates at hospitals on Wednesday, but the schedule was put on hold," an official from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said."We need to strengthen monitoring as the number of new daily infections has risen for six straight weeks," he said. "We will come up with new schedules after reviewing the epidemic and disease control situations and collecting advice from experts."The Korean government had planned to downgrade the infectious disease level of COVID-19 to the lowest level of Class 4 from the current Class 2, the second-highest level, as part of its efforts to implement a full transition to a normal state for the medical system.Class 4 diseases, which include influenza and hand,

Aug 7, 2023

Korea postpones plan to ease virus curbs amid recent COVID-19 surge

Should we go back to wearing face masks?

A man goes through COVID-19 testing at a testing center in Seoul, Tuesday. YonhapCOVID-19 numbers surge once more 2 months after returning to normalityBy Jun Ji-hyeThe number of daily new COVID-19 cases has increased for five consecutive weeks to surpass 40,000, with figures for seriously ill patients and deaths also showing clear upward trends. The resurgence of infections, which came two months after the public health emergency was officially declared as moving toward an endemic phase here, is raising concerns regarding another pandemic wave, with health experts urging the government to be more cautious before deciding to fully lift the remaining indoor mask rules across the country. According to the latest data from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), Tuesday, the daily average for new infections for the week beginning July 25 stood at 45,529, up by 17 percent from 38,802 tallied the previous week.In particular, 57,220 new cases were reported on July 26 alone, marking the highest figure since June 1 when the country declared the end of the health emergency. Wha

Aug 1, 2023By Jun Ji-hye

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