Category: Korea-General Topics

The coronavirus news continues to get better in South Korea:

South Korea on Sunday reported eight new cases of COVID-19 to mark the first time in around two months for the total to rise by a single-digit number, making the country confident enough to partially ease its thorough social distancing drive.

The figure for cases detected on Saturday fell from a day earlier when new infections reached 18, bringing the total infections to 10,661, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Here are the restrictions in place for this week’s parliamentary elections:

As for Wednesday’s general elections, the government announced that hospitalized patients and quarantined people with symptoms will not be allowed to cast a vote, but that asymptomatic people under quarantine will be allowed.

Those who are quarantined and do not show any symptoms Wednesday will be allowed to leave their homes from 5:20 p.m. to arrive at their polling station by 6 p.m. On their way, they must wear a face mask and either walk or drive and not use public transport. Once they arrive at the polling station, they will wait in a separate location until other voters finish casting their ballots.  

Once the other voters have completely left the station after 6 p.m., asymptomatic people under quarantine will place their votes, after which they must return back home by 7 p.m. The government warned that anyone who wanders off during this time will be severely punished. Quarantined people who wish to vote must respond to a text message sent by their local government office Monday or Tuesday, or in case they were told to self-quarantine after Tuesday noon, contact their local government office to inform their will to vote.

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

Some Americans may be soon taking a Korean manufactured coronavirus test kit:

Two South Korean companies are expected to ship their coronavirus test kits to the United States by plane this week, a foreign ministry official said Monday, after their products won interim approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. 

The two firms and another company have signed contracts with the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to export their test kits after they won pre-emergency use authorization from the FDA.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

I wonder how many of the travelers from the U.S. are returning Korean citizens?:

All arrivals from the United States are to be tested for the new coronavirus within three days of self-isolation, starting Monday, health authorities said. 

The strengthened measure against COVID-19 began midnight, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).

It comes as confirmed cases from the U.S. have been increasing steadily despite a gradual decline in domestic cases.

KCDC data showed that 228, or 49.7 percent, out of a total of 459 imported cases came from the U.S over the past two weeks. 

On Sunday, the number of imported cases was 24, with 18 of them coming from the U.S., followed by Europe with two.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Before people begin panicking these cases are likely caused by inaccurate testing proclaiming them virus free. There has been many complaints about inaccurate tests from around the world:

More than 90 people who fully recovered from the novel coronavirus have tested positive for COVID-19 again, health authorities here said Friday.

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said a total of 91 people had tested positive for the new coronavirus after they were released from quarantine.

KCDC Director-General Jeong Eun-kyeong said a viral test on such cases is currently under way, with the results expected at least two weeks later, unlike regular swab tests used to test for COVID-19 that shows results in a relatively shorter time.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Via a reader tip comes this video of a container ship trying to dock in Busan Harbor that crashed into a loading crane:

You can read more about this incident and see other viewpoints of the the crash at this link.

The news continues to get better out of South Korea:

South Korea’s new coronavirus infections fell below 30 on Friday for the first time since Feb. 20, with the southeastern city of Daegu, once the nation’s epicenter, reporting no new cases for the first time. 

The 27 new cases, detected Thursday and down from 39 a day ago, brought the nation’s total infections to 10,450, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).

South Korea recorded around 50 or fewer daily new cases for a fifth day in a row, a sharp drop from the Feb. 29 peak of 909 new cases. But health authorities remain on high alert over cluster infections at churches and hospitals, as well as new cases coming from overseas.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Another sign of improving conditions in South Korea in their fight against the coronavirus:

New infections of the coronavirus dropped to 39 Wednesday, the lowest daily figure since cases began to soar in mid-February after a major cluster was traced to a church in Daegu.

As local health officials try to push the number down by imposing strict penalties on violators of government quarantine orders, the Ministry of Justice announced that a 40-year-old Indonesian man was slapped with a 500,000 won ($411) fine and deported from Korea Wednesday afternoon after leaving a residence and lying to officials about it.

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

Online classes for South Korean students began this week:

The government had postponed the new school year, which usually starts in March, by five weeks to Monday. But the plan changed as unexpected cluster infections broke out in various parts of the country.

Last week, the government announced plans to first resume online classes for seniors at middle and high schools before expanding the remote learning program to other grades. 

Grades one and two at middle schools and high schools, as well as grades four to six at elementary schools, will begin the new semester next Thursday. Grades one to three at elementary schools will start taking online classes from April 20. The national college entrance exam has been pushed back by two weeks to Dec. 3. 

Classes at kindergartens and child care centers have been indefinitely postponed.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

For Americans this news will not apply because the U.S. does not have a travel ban in place on South Korea. It will apply to a total of 88 countries which include Canada and Australia:

The government plans to bring into force a decision to temporarily suspend visa exemptions for countries imposing entry bans on South Koreans at an early date, a foreign ministry official said Wednesday. 

South Korea announced earlier that it will halt visa-free entry and visa waiver programs for countries that have barred the entry of South Koreans over coronavirus concerns, a move aimed at curbing the rise in imported cases that has emerged as a key factor behind the continuing virus outbreak.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.