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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.

Will Korea lift mask mandate before Lunar New Year holiday?

A sign displayed inside a building in Seoul reads that visitors are required to wear face masks, Dec. 7, 2022. YonhapGov't to hold meeting with experts Tuesday to discuss easing mask mandateBy Lee Hyo-jin The government remains prudent over scrapping the indoor mask mandate despite its previous plans to review relaxing the measures actively once the number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations enter a stable downward trend. The number of new infections and critical cases have been showing a declining trend over the last couple of weeks, with 32,570 daily cases reported for Saturday, marking the lowest figure for a Saturday in three months. The number of patients in critical condition came to 499, falling below the 500-benchmark in 29 days since marking 468 on Dec. 17. The fatality rate stands at 0.11 percent.Korea is currently the only country among OECD member states requiring masks to be worn in all indoor spaces after the measure was implemented in October 2020. Earlier in December, the government announced that, if two out of four criteria are met, masks will no longer be a requ

Jan 15, 2023By Lee Hyo-jin
Will Korea lift mask mandate before Lunar New Year holiday?

Korean gov't refutes claims of discrimination against Chinese travelers

Travelers from China register for COVID-19 tests at a screening center in Incheon International Airport, Jan. 2. Korea Times photo by Ha Sang-yoonBy Lee Hyo-jin The Ministry of Health and Welfare has refuted claims raised by Chinese media that travelers from China are subject to “insulting” treatment on arrival here, such as being locked up in a dark room, due to Korea's strengthened entry measures.Under tightened COVID-19 restrictions, travelers from China, Hong Kong and Macau who plan to stay in Korea for 90 days or less should take a PCR test at the airport. Those who test positive must undergo seven days of isolation at a government-designated facility.The Global Times, a mouthpiece of the Chinese government, wrote on Wednesday that Korea's measures against Chinese travelers are “insulting” and “only target Chinese people.” Citing Chinese internet users, it claimed that travelers who were refused entry were taken to a small, dark room for “detention,” and that the conditions in the quarantine facilities were very poor, without beds

Jan 12, 2023By Lee Hyo-jin
Korean gov't refutes claims of discrimination against Chinese travelers
  • China should not restrict arrivals for reasons beyond COVID-19 response measures: foreign ministry

Korea's COVID-19 cases dip to lowest Thursday tally in 11 weeks

This photo shows a COVID-19 testing center in Seoul's Dongdaemun Ward, Jan. 9. NewsisKorea's new COVID-19 cases fell to the lowest Thursday tally in 11 weeks, with rising imported cases putting health authorities on high alert.The country reported 43,953 new COVID-19 infections, including 135 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 29,698,043, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.The tally marked the lowest for any Thursday since Oct. 27, when the country reported 34,972 new cases. The country added 76 COVID-19 deaths, bringing the death toll to 32,821. The number of critically ill patients came to 510, down 30 from the previous day, the KDCA said.The Korean government has ramped up monitoring for overseas visitors amid the recent surge in infections in China following the abrupt lifting of its zero-COVID policy in December.Of the 135 new cases of overseas infections reported Thursday, 90, or 66.6 percent, were from China, according to the KDCA. (Yonhap)

Jan 12, 2023
Korea's COVID-19 cases dip to lowest Thursday tally in 11 weeks

Health ministry pushes to raise medical student quota despite backlash from doctors

Health Minister Cho Kyu-hong speaks during a briefing at Government Complex Seoul, Monday, about the ministry's New Year policy plans submitted to President Yoon Suk Yeol earlier in the day. YonhapBy Lee Hyo-jin The Ministry of Health and Welfare and medical groups are at loggerheads over the government's proposal to increase the medical student quota, a plan which the government had previously retracted following fierce protests from doctors in 2020.The thorny issue was brought up again in the ministry's New Year policy briefing to President Yoon Suk Yeol, Monday, promising to speed up discussions with the medical community on its plan to raise the quota to deal with a looming shortage of physicians in Korea.The admissions quota across 40 medical schools in the country has remained unchanged after it was set at 3,058 in 2006, whereas the quota for nursing schools doubled to over 23,000 during the same period.Health authorities view that the fixed quota is largely responsible for the shortage of doctors in Korea.As of 2020, the number of physicians in Korea ― excluding traditional Ko

Jan 11, 2023By Lee Hyo-jin
Health ministry pushes to raise medical student quota despite backlash from doctors

Health ministry seeks speedy pension reform

President Yoon Suk Yeol gives an opening speech during a joint New Year policy briefing by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, Ministry of Employment and Labor, Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, held at Cheong Wa Dae, the former presidential office, in Seoul, Monday. Joint Press CorpsPresident stresses inclusive welfare policies By Lee Hyo-jin The Ministry of Health and Welfare will expedite its pension reform plan, which has been set as one of the Yoon Suk yeol administration's top three agendas for this year, along with labor and education.During a New Year's policy briefing to the president, Monday, Health Minister Cho Kyu-hong said his ministry will announce detailed estimates of the state-run pension fund by the end of this month, two months earlier than its initial plan to unveil the data in March.Based on the forecast, the ministry will lay out a comprehensive pension management plan to be submitted to the National Assembly by October. The reform plans will focus on achieving sustainabi

Jan 9, 2023By Lee Hyo-jin
Health ministry seeks speedy pension reform

Health authorities remain wary of China risk

Customs officers check documents at the Lok Ma Chau checkpoint at the Shenzhen border crossing with mainland China in Hong Kong, Sunday. AFP-YonhapBy Ko Dong-hwanKorean health authorities are closely watching travelers arriving from China as the neighboring country is struggling under the weight of an explosion in cases of COVID-19 with its effects seemingly out of control. The number of infected travelers arriving from China remains within a stable range of 60 to 70 per day. But experts say that considering that the virus can remain latent inside patients before showing symptoms, the situation requires at least one to two additional weeks to monitor how it will unfold here.Earlier this month, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) required travelers from China to present a negative COVID-19 test before boarding their flights in China. Last Thursday, the authorities further raised the bar by requiring arrivals to take a second test on landing and quarantining those who test positive.The KDCA said Sunday that a total of 277 infection cases were recorded in arrivals fro

Jan 8, 2023By Ko Dong-hwan
Health authorities remain wary of China risk

Korea's COVID-19 cases down for 5th straight day

Inbound passengers from China, Hong Kong and Macao wait to take COVID-19 tests at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, Jan. 6. YonhapKorea's new COVID-19 cases fell for the fifth consecutive day Sunday amid the government's efforts to prevent the inflow of the virus from China.A total of 46,766 new coronavirus infections, including 132 from overseas, have been confirmed, bringing the total to 29,520,600, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).The number of daily infections surged to over 80,000 on Tuesday but has since been on a steady decline. Compared with a week earlier, Sunday's figure is down by more than 10,000.The country added 34 COVID-19 deaths, bringing the death toll to 32,590. The number of critically ill patients came to 526, down from the previous day's 544, the KDCA said. Korea has been strengthening quarantine measures again for overseas entrants in the wake of the recent surge in infections in China and other adjacent regions.Arrivals from China are required to present a negative PCR or antigen test for the coronavirus before boa

Jan 8, 2023
Korea's COVID-19 cases down for 5th straight day

1 in 8 travelers from China test positive at Incheon despite pre-entry PCR requirement

Travelers arriving from China line up in a separate queue before entering Korea at Incheon International Airport, Friday. YonhapBy Lee Hae-rinOne out of eight travelers from China who had tested negative for the coronavirus before boarding their flight to Korea tested positive on arrival at Incheon International Airport, Thursday, the first day the country mandated pre-entry negative COVID-19 test results from such travelers. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), 1,247 travelers from China arrived at Incheon on the day, and of the 278 short-term travelers of foreign nationality among them undergoing PCR tests at the airport's testing centers, 12.6 percent, or 35 of them tested positive.The figure was lower than 31.4 percent the previous day when the pre-entry test requirement was not in place. The health authorities explained that the time gap of 48 to 50 hours between pre-departure and post-arrival tests for these travelers could have been an incubation period for the virus and yielded new infection cases.“The virus could have been under an incub

Jan 6, 2023By Lee Hae-rin
1 in 8 travelers from China test positive at Incheon despite pre-entry PCR requirement

PM inspects anti-epidemic measures at Incheon airport

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, left, inspects a COVID-19 testing station at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, Jan. 6. Yonhap Prime Minister Han Duck-soo visited a COVID-19 testing station at Incheon International Airport on Friday as Korea has been requiring arrivals from China to show negative test results before entering the country.The on-site inspection came a day after Korea began requiring travelers from China to show a negative result from a PCR test taken within 48 hours before departure or a rapid antigen test taken within 24 hours before departure. Since Monday, Korea has also required travelers from China to receive a PCR test upon their arrival. During the visit, Han said President Yoon Suk Yeol has asked him to "put the safety of the people first" for arrivals from China.With China abruptly dismantling its strict "zero-COVID" policies, including travel bans, some scientists have raised concerns about the possible spread of a new mutant virus.A

Jan 6, 2023
PM inspects anti-epidemic measures at Incheon airport
  • Korea's COVID-19 cases fall below 60,000 amid tighter quarantine for incoming travelers

Gov't vows 'stern punishment' for Chinese COVID-19 quarantine escapee

A Chinese national infected with COVID-19 is taken from Seoul back to a hotel in Incheon, Thursday, where he had been ordered by the Korean health authority to quarantine himself two days ago. He had fled before being checked into the quarantine facility. YonhapThe government pledged "stern punishment" Friday for a Chinese man arrested for going into hiding without entering mandatory quarantine after testing positive for COVID-19 upon arrival in Korea.The 41-year-old Chinese was told to stay in quarantine for a week at a hotel in South Korea on Tuesday right after testing positive for the virus upon arriving at Incheon International Airport. He, however, refused to quarantine himself and went into hiding. Police nabbed him at a hotel in Seoul on Thursday on charges of violating the pandemic prevention and control law. Starting Monday, all arrivals from China are obliged to undergo a PCR test within the first day of their entry into South Korea. Those who test positive for COVID-19 must be quarantined for one week.Starting Saturday, those from Hong Kong and Macao will also be required

Jan 6, 2023
Gov't vows 'stern punishment' for Chinese COVID-19 quarantine escapee
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