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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.

World Bio Summit calls for stronger global vaccine alliances after pandemic

President Yoon Suk-yeol delivers a speech during the opening ceremony of the World Bio Summit 2022 at Grand Walkerhill Seoul in Gwangjin District, Tuesday. The event was co-hosted by Korea's Ministry of Health and Welfare and the World Health Organization. YonhapGlobal health leaders gather in Seoul to revisit pandemic, its impact on worldBy Ko Dong-hwanPresident Yoon Suk-yeol said Tuesday South Korea is willing to provide its domestically developed vaccines to underdeveloped countries that are prone to infectious diseases, in a speech given at World Bio Summit 2022 held at Grand Walkerhill Seoul. “The Korean government has pledged $300 million to The Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator, $100 million to the Global Fund for ending the world's three most contagious diseases and $30 million to the World Bank's global financing pool,” he said. “Korea has also successfully developed a COVID-19 vaccine and will provide it to countries in need. As the bio manpower training hub as designated by the WHO, we will also support countries to increase their vaccine production c

Oct 25, 2022By Ko Dong-hwan
World Bio Summit calls for stronger global vaccine alliances after pandemic

Indoor mask rule to be in place for 3 more months: health authorities

Chung Ki-seok, head of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency's COVID-19 Special Response Team, speaks during a government briefing at the Government Complex Seoul, Monday. YonhapBy Lee Hae-rinThe government will maintain the current indoor mask mandate for at least three more months, health authorities said Monday.Chung Ki-seok, the head of the COVID-19 Special Response Team at the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), said during a regular briefing Monday that the indoor mask mandate could be partially lifted three months from now. However, Chung emphasized that, even if the COVID-19 pandemic is declared over worldwide, it will be a good while before it will be possible to remove masks indoors safely in indoor spaces such as public transportation and medical institutions.As for the KDCA's key reasons for maintaining the measure, the senior health official said, “Infections are likely to rise from the moment people start taking off masks.” The country continues to see COVID-19-related deaths and serious cases, while still having a shortage of inten

Oct 24, 2022By Lee Hae-rin
Indoor mask rule to be in place for 3 more months: health authorities

Korea hosts 2022 World Bio Summit

The Korean government and the World Health Organization (WHO) will jointly host the 2022 World Bio Summit at Grand Walkerhill Seoul from Oct. 25 to 26. Screenshot from the World Bio Summit websiteBy Lee Hyo-jin The Korean government and the World Health Organization (WHO) will jointly host the 2022 World Bio Summit in Seoul from Oct. 25 to 26, gathering various health experts, the heads of international organizations and the leaders of top biopharmaceutical firms.The inaugural event will take place at Grand Walkerhill Seoul, bringing together over 300 participants from around the world, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus will deliver his opening remarks online, while President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Masatsugu Asakawa, former Secretary General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon, CEO of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) Richard Hatchett and Director General of the International Vaccine Institute (IVI), Jerome Kim, will give speeches in person.Under the theme, “the future of vaccine and bio-hea

Oct 24, 2022By Lee Hyo-jin
Korea hosts 2022 World Bio Summit

Next COVID-19 wave to be fueled by new variants: experts

Myeongdong in Seoul's Jung District is crowded with people, Oct. 19. YonhapBy Lee Hae-rinNewly emerging subvariants of the coronavirus are anticipated to rise to dominance and fuel the country's upcoming fall and winter wave. The numbers of daily COVID-19 infections most recently surged here in early July, peaking with more than 180,000 cases per day in mid-August, driven mostly by Omicron subvariant BA.5. Since then, the numbers of daily infections had been gradually slowing down, but recent weeks have seen a relative uptick. Although it is too early to determine whether the next wave has begun, the government and local health experts forecast that the country will likely see another wave of the coronavirus soon, but on a smaller scale than earlier this summer.The Central Disease and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH) announced Friday that the basic reproduction number of the coronavirus for Korea is now 1.09. The basic reproduction number, R0 (pronounced, “R naught”), is defined as the expected number of cases directly generated by one infected person in a popu

Oct 23, 2022By Lee Hae-rin
Next COVID-19 wave to be fueled by new variants: experts

New COVID-19 cases post sharp on-week rise amid resurgence woes

A person enters a makeshift COVID-19 testing station in Seoul on Oct. 21. YonhapKorea's new COVID-19 cases stayed below 30,000 for the fifth consecutive day Sunday, but the daily count recorded a sharp hike from the previous week amid rising concerns over a resurgence in infections nationwide in the winter.The country reported 26,256 new COVID-19 infections, including 67 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 25,297,334, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.It marks a slight fall from the previous day's 26,906 new cases, but 4,800 cases more than logged a week earlier. The comparable figure two weeks ago was 17,646.The country has seen a gradual decrease in the new virus wave since mid-August, but the pace of its decline has slowed down in recent days. The health authorities have warned of another wave in around December.The country reported 16 deaths from COVID-19 on Sunday, raising the death toll to 28,990. The fatality rate stood at 0.11 percent.The number of critically ill patients came to 212, up 16 from a day earlier, the KDCA said. In line with th

Oct 23, 2022
New COVID-19 cases post sharp on-week rise amid resurgence woes

KDCA's disease diagnosis lab spearheads battle against COVID-19

This photo provided by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) shows a laboratory for disease diagnosis and gene sequencing at the KDCA in Osong, some 100 kilometers south of Seoul. YonhapIn case of an outbreak of an unidentified virus, the swift diagnosis of the virus is a key step for health authorities to control the disease from the initial stage.The novel coronavirus was first reported in Wuhan, China, then quickly spread worldwide and resulted in the COVID-19 pandemic. Early on, Korea was hailed as one of the leading nations that promptly brought the virus under control.The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said that it was fortunate to check its diagnostic testing capabilities for infectious diseases and be fully ready for the system right before the first outbreak and then face the unprecedented pandemic, which has lasted nearly three years."We experienced a public health crisis from the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in the past and learned the importance of virus diagnosis," said Yoo Cheon-kwon, director of the Bureau of Infectious D

Oct 20, 2022
KDCA's disease diagnosis lab spearheads battle against COVID-19

PM orders preventive steps to contain 1st avian flu case in six months

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, center, presides over a Cabinet meeting at the government complex in Sejong, 112 kilometers south of Seoul, Oct. 18. YonhapPrime Minister Han Duck-soo on Wednesday instructed officials to take preventive measures, including the culling of poultry, as the nation reported its first virulent avian influenza case in some six months. The emergency instruction came as the case was reported a day earlier at the farm in the southeastern county of Yecheon, 165 kilometers southeast of Seoul, with the authorities confirming the highly pathogenic strain of H5N1. Han has ordered the agriculture minister to carry out "the preventive culling within a 500-meter radius and swiftly implement containment measures," the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement. Han also instructed officials to thoroughly implement other preventive steps, including restricting movement and disinfecting farms and roads in Yecheon, according to the statement. Upon the report, the authorities have cordoned off the farm and implemented containment measures, including the culling of some 9,800

Oct 19, 2022
PM orders preventive steps to contain 1st avian flu case in six months

New COVID-19 cases rise to over 30,000 amid general slowdown in infections

People stand in line to take coronavirus tests at a screening clinic in Seoul's Yongsan Ward, Oct. 18. YonhapKorea's new COVID-19 cases more than doubled from a week ago Tuesday, a departure from the steady downturn in new infections the country has seen in recent months. The country reported 33,248 new COVID-19 infections, including 87 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 25,164,695, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.Tuesday's tally tripled from 11,040 a day ago and more than doubled from a week ago, when the corresponding figure was 15,466.While the virus wave has been on the decline since it peaked at over 180,000 cases on Aug. 17, Korea has seen a weekly uptick for the fifth consecutive day, putting health authorities on alert ahead of a possible winter surge.The country reported six deaths from COVID-19, raising the death toll to 28,856. The fatality rate stood at 0.11 percent. The number of critically ill patients came to 247, down one from a day earlier, the KDCA said.In recent weeks, the government has eased antivirus restrictions, including

Oct 18, 2022
New COVID-19 cases rise to over 30,000 amid general slowdown in infections

Nurses face job insecurity with closure of COVID-19 wards

A COVID-19 ward nurse rests at a hospital in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province. YonhapBy Lee Yeon-wooNurses, along with other healthcare workers, have been lauded as heroes throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, as they have been at the forefront of the fight against the virus that has continued for nearly three years.Their treatment, however, has been undergoing a drastic shift as the daily numbers of COVID-19 infections fall. With the closure of COVID-19 wards in hospitals, they are being asked to either quit or take voluntary leaves of absence.Some have followed the “advice,” taking leave or moving to other departments unrelated to their area of expertise. Some quit, according to Rep. Kang Sun-woo of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK).The Korean Nurses Association conducted an online survey of 764 nurses working at 245 hospitals across the country from Sept. 19 to 25 to figure out how many nurses have experienced job insecurity. The survey found six out of every 10 nurses couldn't return to the departments they had worked in previously before being moved to COVID-19 war

Oct 17, 2022By Lee Yeon-woo
Nurses face job insecurity with closure of COVID-19 wards

Korea's new COVID-19 cases fall to nearly 10,000 amid virus slowdown

A man visits a screening clinic to take a coronavirus test in Seoul, Oct 6. YonhapKorea's new COVID-19 cases fell below 20,000 on Monday as its spread continues to slow down amid high levels of vaccinations and eased restrictions. The country reported 11,040 new COVID-19 infections, including 81 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 25,131,505, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.The country has seen a gradual downtrend in new infections since peaking at over 180,000 cases on Aug. 17.Monday's tally fell from 21,469 on Sunday but inched up by more than 2,000 cases from a week ago. The corresponding figure was 12,142 two weeks ago.The government has eased antivirus restrictions, including lifting all outdoor mask mandates and the COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing requirement for inbound travelers, as part of efforts to resume pre-pandemic normalcy.The country reported 11 deaths from COVID-19, raising the death toll to 28,851. The fatality rate stood at 0.11 percent. The number of critically ill patients came to 248, up one from a day earli

Oct 17, 2022
Korea's new COVID-19 cases fall to nearly 10,000 amid virus slowdown
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