[Herald Interview] ‘COVID-19 doesn’t stop for Christmas’

For many front-liners around the country, Christmas was just like any other day in the pandemic. South Korea counted 1,241 more cases of COVID-19 on Christmas -- the highest number yet in a single day -- according to government statistics. Internal medicine specialist Dr. Cho Seung-kook, 37, had spent both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at the hospital working with patients. He and his team at Wonju Medical Center in Gangwon Province look after around 80 patients in the hospital’s COV

Dec. 27, 2020

S. Korean posthumously tests positive for COVID-19 after return from Britain, variant possibility being examined

SEOUL/SUWON -- An elderly South Korean man, who recently returned from Britain, has posthumously tested positive for COVID-19, officials said Sunday, prompting authorities to look into whether he contracted a new variant fast spreading in the European nation. The man in his 80s had remained in self-quarantine at home in Goyang, northwest of Seoul, after arriving from Britain on Dec. 13. He passed away Saturday morning at a hospital after experiencing cardiac arrest. Samples from the man's body

Dec. 27, 2020

S. Korea to shorten approval process of COVID-19 vaccines, treatments

South Korea's medicine regulator said Sunday it will shorten an approval process of COVID-19 vaccines and treatments, as the nation signed deals to import coronavirus vaccines amid the winter wave of the pandemic. It usually takes about 180 days for a vaccine to be approved under a standard licensing procedure, but the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said it aims to shorten the approval process to as low as 40 days due to the pandemic's urgency. In South Korea, a vaccine must win additional a

Dec. 27, 2020

[Newsmaker] S. Korea issues nationwide standstill order on poultry farms amid bird flu cases

South Korea issued a 24-hour standstill order on Sunday on all poultry farms across the country following a series of highly pathogenic bird flu cases. Until Sunday, all poultry farms and livestock production facilities, including their vehicles and personnel, will be subject to the movement ban, with disinfection work to be carried out during the period, authorities said. It was the second time this month that a nationwide standstill order was issued over bird flu cases. On Dec. 12, a 48-hour

Dec. 27, 2020

New virus cases under 1,000, tougher pandemic rules under consideration

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases fell below 1,000 on Sunday, mainly due to less testing over the weekend, as the government is considering whether to raise social distancing rules to the highest level to contain the winter wave of the virus. The country added 970 more COVID-19 cases, including 946 local infections, raising the total caseload to 56,872, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The tally marked a decline from 1,132 cases Saturday, 1,241 cases

Dec. 27, 2020

S. Korea adds over 1,100 virus cases despite tougher distancing rules

South Korea reported more than 1,100 daily new coronavirus cases on Saturday, despite all-out efforts to lower the curve of infections with the toughest distancing rules yet in place. The country reported 1,132 more COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, including 1,104 local infections, putting the total caseload at 55,902, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The tally is slightly lower than Saturday's new record high of 1,241. The death toll rose by 20 to 79

Dec. 26, 2020

Cambodian worker found dead on subzero day, probe underway

A migrant farm worker from Cambodia was found dead on a subzero day earlier this week inside a vinyl greenhouse she had been living, leading the police to open an investigation and shedding light on appalling living conditions faced by farm workers here. A Cambodian woman, 30, was not breathing when her colleagues tried to wake her up inside a vinyl greenhouse at a farm in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, on Sunday afternoon when the temperature dropped as low as to minus 20 degrees Celsius in the

Dec. 25, 2020

Moon apologizes for 'confusion' over disciplinary action against top prosecutor

President Moon Jae-in apologized to the nation Friday for causing "inconvenience and confusion" over the top prosecutor's suspension and subsequent reinstatement by a court. Moon said he "respects" the court's decision Thursday to return Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl to his post, according to presidential spokesman Kang Min-seok. Yoon won an injunction against the justice ministry's decision to suspend him for two months over a series of alleged misdeeds, including sur

Dec. 25, 2020

Seoul prison adds 288 COVID-19 cases in 2nd mass outbreak, total at 514

  The Dongbu Detention Center in eastern Seoul reported 288 new cases of the coronavirus in its second mass outbreak, bringing the total number of infections linked to the facility nationwide to 514, the justice ministry said Friday. In its second mass testing on Wednesday, the prison found 286 cases among prisoners and two infected staff members, according to the ministry. A total of 2,021 prisoners and 416 staff members took part in the tests. Former President Lee Myung-bak, who has be

Dec. 25, 2020

S. Korea's virus cases hit all-time high despite tougher distancing rules

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases hit a new record high on Friday, despite the most stringent social distancing rules to contain the winter wave of the virus. South Korea reported 1,241 more COVID-19 cases, including 1,216 local infections, raising the total caseload to 54,770, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The tally marked a hike from 985 on Thursday, according the public health agency. The hike is mainly blamed on 288 new cases at Dongbu Detent

Dec. 25, 2020

Temporary testing centers detect 121 new COVID-19 cases in capital area

Temporary testing centers in the greater Seoul area detected 121 asymptomatic coronavirus cases in a day, or 10 percent of all locally transmitted infections, the health authorities said Friday. According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters, 60,931 tests were carried out at the temporary screening facilities Thursday, and 121 came back positive, equivalent to 10 percent of the day's 1,216 local infections. The facilities have detected a total of 1,025 positive cases since they first o

Dec. 25, 2020

S. Korea's daily coronavirus cases reach new high of 1,241: PM

South Korea reported 1,241 daily cases of the coronavirus in a new record high for the country, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said Friday. Chung made the remark during a government COVID-19 pandemic response meeting, calling on health authorities and local governments to respond "strictly" to violations of social distancing rules. "A joint government monitoring team found through onsite inspections that there were still many places that were not following the antivirus measures

Dec. 25, 2020

‘Korea may be expanding testing the wrong way’

The accuracy of the rapid COVID-19 antigen tests being used in South Korea may be considerably lower than previously suggested, according to a recent analysis, prompting concerns that widespread use could undermine disease control efforts. Korea has deployed rapid antigen tests at testing centers around the country since last week following President Moon Jae-in’s order on Dec. 7. The country now offers three choices for people wanting to get tested for COVID-19: a rapid antigen test u

Dec. 24, 2020

South Korea inks COVID-19 vaccine deals with Pfizer, Janssen

South Korea has reached a deal with pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Janssen to acquire enough COVID-19 vaccines to give to 16 million people, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said on Thursday. “We have closed a deal with Pfizer to deliver 20 million doses no later than July. We have also closed a deal with Janssen for the acquisition of 6 million doses -- 2 million doses more than the planned amount of 4 million doses, to arrive here by the second quarter of next year,”

Dec. 24, 2020

Kindergartens, schools in Gyeonggi Province to remain closed until end of February

Kindergartens, elementary, middle and high schools in Gyeonggi Province will remain shut and students will take classes online through the end of February next year due to the spread of COVID-19, regional education authorities said Thursday. The online learning period was scheduled to run until the end of this month, but it was extended by two more months, according to Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education. All school events including graduation or school closing ceremonies in the provinc

Dec. 24, 2020

S. Korea signs deals to purchase vaccines from Janssen, Pfizer

South Korea has signed deals with Johnson & Johnson's Janssen and Pfizer to purchase COVID-19 vaccines, with a goal of starting vaccinations in the second quarter of 2021, health authorities said Thursday. The government will buy vaccines for 10 million people from Pfizer and 6 million from Janssen, which was up from its initial plan for 4 million people, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The government formally struck a purchase deal with AstraZeneca in

Dec. 24, 2020

Temporary testing centers effective in detecting hidden infections

Temporary coronavirus testing centers now in operation throughout the greater Seoul area have contributed greatly to detecting hidden infections, officials said Thursday, announcing as many as 150 cases were confirmed through their testing the previous day alone. According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters, 58,091 people were tested by the makeshift screening facilities Wednesday and 150 of them were diagnosed with COVID-19. Patients detected this way accounted for 15.7 percent of al

Dec. 24, 2020

New virus cases under 1,000, tougher distancing rules in place

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases fell below 1,000 on Thursday, as the most stringent social distancing rules so far were in place ahead of the Christmas and New Year's holidays to contain the winter wave of the virus. The country added 985 more COVID-19 cases, including 955 local infections, raising the total caseload to 53,533, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The tally marked a decline from 1,092 cases Wednesday, 869 cases Tuesday, 926 cases Mond

Dec. 24, 2020

S. Korea confirms 3 more cases of highly pathogenic bird flu

South Korea confirmed three more cases of highly pathogenic bird flu in poultry Wednesday, raising this year‘s total caseload to 22 amid growing concerns over the disease spreading across the nation. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said it has identified an avian influenza (AI) of H5N8 strain at a fowl farm in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, just south of Seoul. The farm was raising about 4,700 ducks and 100,000 quails. 　 It was the 20th such case since the nation confirmed

Dec. 23, 2020

New virus cases spike to over 1,000, virus curbs further tightened

South Korea‘s daily new coronavirus cases rose to above 1,000 for the first time in three days Wednesday, as the nation imposed the most stringent social distancing rules so far to contain the winter wave of the virus. 　 　The country added 1,092 more COVID-19 cases, including 1,060 local infections, raising the total caseload to 52,550, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). It was the second-highest one-day tally of confirmed cases since the pandemic began.

Dec. 23, 2020