It appears that South Korea’s current COVID wave has not yet hit its plateau as cases continue to grow to record levels after the Lunar New Year holiday:
South Korea’s daily COVID-19 infections rose sharply to hit another high of nearly 50,000 on Wednesday amid the fast spread of the highly transmissible omicron variant across the nation.
The country reported 49,567 new COVID-19 infections, including 49,402 local cases, raising the total to 1,131,248, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).
It marked the first time that the daily tally exceeded the 40,000 level. The previous daily record high was 38,689 recorded Sunday.
Yonhap
You can read more at the link, but according to the article health authorities say cases could peak at 170,000 by the end of the month. However, as this current wave is showing the cases are not necessarily important it is the hospitalizations which so far South Korea has been able to effectively manage.
Much like USFK, U.S. Forces Japan is seeing a continued drop in cases despite the relatively high case counts in the surrounding population:
Another 17,113 people tested positive for COVID-19 in Japan’s capital city, public broadcaster NHK reported Tuesday, a number slightly below the running seven-day average but still comparatively high in the history of Japan’s coronavirus pandemic.
Tokyo and other prefectures, including neighboring Kanagawa, home of the U.S. 7th Fleet, asked the central government to extend a quasi-emergency scheduled to end Sunday, according to Kyodo News on Tuesday.
Thirty-four of Japan’s 47 prefectures are under public health restrictions. Quasi-emergency measures encourage bars and restaurants to close early and refrain from alcohol sales, and residents to avoid unnecessary travel.
In Tokyo, the number of severely ill COVID-19 patients surpassed 50 for the first time since October, NHK reported. Still, less than 10% of hospital beds reserved for those patients are filled. But 55% of those set aside for routine coronavirus patients were filled on Monday, according to metro government data.
Japan’s new case numbers fell from 103,038 on Thursday to 92,865 on Tuesday, according to the World Health Organization.
U.S. Forces Japan on Tuesday reported 103 new cases at 15 installations,34 fewer than the previous day, according to its daily update. Yokosuka Naval Base again held the top spot with 61 new cases. Tied for No. 2 were Yokota Air Base and Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni with nine each.
Stars & Stripes
You can read more at the link.
“Creative” is likely a code word for how do we get around sanctions and send free goodies to the Kim regime to behave?:
South Korea will have in-depth consultations with the United States and Japan in the upcoming three-way ministerial talks to explore “creative” ways of engagement with North Korea, Seoul officials said Tuesday.
The foreign ministry reaffirmed its commitment to diplomacy with Pyongyang, as South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong is set to meet with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi in Hawaii on Saturday following the North’s recent missile tests.
“In light of the meeting, South Korea and U.S., as well as Japan, plan to have in-depth consultations on creative and various ways to engage with North Korea,” ministry spokesperson Choi Young-sam said in a press briefing.
Yonhap
You can read more at the link.
Some good news from this article is that quarantine for USFK Soldiers has been lessened to 7 days and on-post indoor dining is now open again:
New coronavirus cases from the U.S. military have declined for the fourth consecutive week, though infections across the country continue to reach record highs.
U.S. Forces Korea, the command responsible for roughly 28,500 troops on the Korean Peninsula, counted 153 new COVID-19 cases in a seven-day period ending Monday. That’s 43 fewer than USFK reported the previous period and far below the pandemic high of 1,599 cases between Jan. 4-10.
USFK leaders have said they are “proud” of their community’s “continued efforts” in adhering to mitigation measures.
“Their actions are reflected in our numbers and they speak for themselves,” spokesman Army Col. Lee Peters told Stars and Stripes in an email last week. “We’ve seen a continued downward trend … and expect to continue this trend.”
Dining in off-post restaurants remains off-limits, but after a monthlong pause, most dining facilities on U.S. installations are open again for indoor eating.
The command on Monday shortened its 10-day mandatory quarantine period to seven days to align with South Korean mandates. Those who already live in South Korea may quarantine at home with approval from their supervisors.
Stars & Stripes
You can read more at the link.
I guess we will see if this is North Korea’s post Winter Olympics provocation:
![Footage from a documentary aired in October by the North's Korean Central Television, which covered the country's successful launch of the Kwangmyongsong No. 4 earth observation satellite. [YONHAP]](https://i0.wp.com/koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2022/02/07/02b35f9d-ab99-4ca4-adfa-59676157b2a8.jpg?w=640&ssl=1)
Speculation is mounting that North Korea is preparing a satellite launch, following reports on Monday by state media that the country is determined to “conquer space.”
Joong Ang Ilbo
Yun Sun-yong, a member of the North’s National Science and Technology Commission, emphasized the country’s will to “conquer space” during a Monday radio broadcast aired by the state-run Korean Central Broadcasting Committee to mark the sixth anniversary of the launch of the Kwangmyongsong No. 4, an earth observation satellite the North launched in February 2016.
“The path to conquer space will be continued today and tomorrow, and the heroic legend of juche Korea, which astounds the world, will be created anew continuously.”
You can read more at the link, but this will raise tensions because the U.S. and the West will claim that North Korea is testing ICBM technology with this launch.
The fact that Yoon Suk-yeol is joining in to namedrop for President Roh Moo-hyun could be interpreted that he is getting desperate because I can’t image Roh supporters voting for a conservative candidate:
Ahn also stressed his connection with Roh, saying the former president’s first legislative constituency was in Busan, Ahn’s hometown, and he was one of eight civilians invited to Roh’s inauguration ceremony.
Korea Times
His remarks came after his main rivals Lee Jae-myung of the DPK and Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) namedropped the late president.
On Sunday, Lee visited Bongha Village in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province, where Roh is buried. While paying tribute to the former president, the former Gyeonggi Province governor got emotional at one point.
“To establish the world where human beings live is a dream of Roh Moo-hyun, (President Moon Jae-in) and Lee Jae-myung,” he said during the visit.
Lee also wrote in a guestbook that he will build a world without foul play or privilege.
On Saturday, Yoon paid a visit to a naval base on Jeju Island, a project launched by Roh that faced a strong backlash from residents and activists as well as his supporters, who feared that the base could set off a regional arms race and damage the island’s environment. The construction of the Jeju base was completed in 2016.
Praising Roh’s decision to build the naval base to bolster self-reliance in national defense, Yoon also got emotional, saying that he has Roh’s agony and determination engraved in his heart. Yoon paused for a moment to compose himself.
You can read more at the link, but ROK Heads likely remember that President Roh was elected on a platform that included anti-Americanism, often clashed with the former Bush administration, and was pro-North Korea. Considering all the money Roh allowed to be funneled into North Korea it is arguable that Roh could be considered the father of the North Korean nuclear bomb.
Roh often claimed how he wasn’t corrupt, but after his presidency he committed suicide to protect corrupt family members. Former President Lee Myung-bak is still jailed because he was the one that launched the investigation into Roh’s family that uncovered the corruption that led to his suicide. The Korean left never forgot and once President Moon was elected, investigations were opened to go after Lee and imprison him.
How Yoon Suk-yeol thinks he will get votes from the group of people that still support Roh is beyond me.
