Category: Korea-General Topics

COVID case totals continue to drop in South Korea:

South Korea’s new COVID-19 cases fell below 100,000 for the first time in seven weeks on Monday, as the omicron wave is slowing after reaching its peak in mid-March. 

The country added 90,928 new COVID-19 infections, including 21 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 15,424,598, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. 

Monday’s tally marks the first drop to five digits since the Feb. 22 count of 99,562. It is also nearly a two-month low after the 90,438 registered on Feb. 16.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Remember after the Delta variant the Korean government tried to a living with COVID strategy to almost immediately scrap it when the omicron wave hit. I guess this time we will se if the Korean government actually means to start living with COVID:

As COVID-19 infections are gradually showing signs of slowing down, the government is gearing up to shift to a “post-Omicron” era, in which the coronavirus might be treated as an endemic disease and COVID-19 might be managed more routinely within the general medical system. 

The country added 164,481 new infections on Saturday, raising the aggregated total to 15,333,670. The number of patients in a critical condition marked 1,114, with 329 COVID-19-related deaths.

The health authorities view that infections have entered a downward trend, with nearly 30 percent of the country’s population of 51 million having been infected.

While the government plans to announce a detailed roadmap for the post-Omicron era later this week, it has already started scaling down pandemic response measures.

Beginning Monday, screening centers installed at public health centers will no longer offer free rapid antigen tests, as local clinics are set to play a bigger role in testing and treating patients. The public testing sites will only offer PCR tests to priority groups, such as people aged 60 or over.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

It appears the Moon administration before leaving office might do away with all COVID restrictions:

The government has decided to ease COVID-19 social distancing measures further, Friday, in what is anticipated to be the last adjustment on the distancing rules before scrapping all quarantine regulations in the coming weeks. 

The Ministry of Health and Welfare said Friday that it will relax social distancing measures from Monday to April 17, allowing multiuse facilities such as eateries and cafes to receive sit-in customers until midnight, pushing the limit on operating hours back by one hour to midnight from the current 11 p.m. 

The limit on the number of people for private gatherings will be eased to 10, up from the current eight. 

The ministry said all COVID-19-related curbs, except mandatory wearing of face masks, will be removed if the virus situation stabilizes in the next couple of weeks.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

I guess we will see how long this regulation lasts since the incoming Yoon administration is opposing it:

A ban on coffee shops and restaurants offering disposable plastic cups will be reinstated on April 1, but the incoming administration of Yoon Suk-yeol is already objecting.     
   
The ban on disposable cups, which was first instituted in 2018, was temporarily lifted during the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the Environment Ministry, stores that fail to comply face fines of up to 3 million won ($2,400).    
   
In June, a system in which retailers have to pay for returned empty bottles and cans will be implemented.    
   
The transition team for the Yoon government has asked for the disposable cup ban to be put off.   

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

It looks like South Korea’s COVID numbers is beginning to trend downward to finally match what is going on in much of the rest of the world:

South Korea’s new daily COVID-19 cases fell below 200,000 for the first time in 25 days Monday, as the omicron-driven virus peak appears to have passed amid growing concerns over the spread of the even more transmissible “stealth omicron” subvariant.

The country added 187,213 new coronavirus infections, including 25 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 12,003,054, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. 

It is the first time since March 2 that the daily caseload dropped below 200,000. On March 2, the figure came to 198,803.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It will be interesting to see if landlords do drop rents when these property taxes are frozen or just pocket the extra income:

The government is expected to freeze property tax for the entire homeowners including owners of one expensive home with an officially appraised value of over 1.1 billion won ($905,000) subject to the Comprehensive Real Estate Tax, according to government ministries, Sunday. The hefty Comprehensive Real Estate Tax is imposed for retaining expensive homes. 

The measure is part of the real estate market policy revisions pledged by President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol, whose win by a razor-thin margin was underpinned in considerable part by public fury over the housing prices doubling under the Moon Jae-in administration due to two dozen botched government policies. 

Higher housing prices led to a tax spike for homeowners, almost all of whom passed the unexpected burden to tenants in the form of higher rent, threatening their stable living arrangements. 

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but it will also be interesting to see what losing all this property tax revenue will do to the national budget.

South Korea’s daily COVID rate continues to shatter records:

South Korea’s new daily COVID-19 cases spiked to more than 600,000 on Thursday, setting another record high, fueled by the spread of the highly transmissible omicron variant amid an easing of virus curbs.

The country reported 621,328 new COVID-19 infections, including 62 cases from overseas, raising the total to 8,250,592, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. 

The latest tally marks a 55 percent surge in just one day. South Korea has seen a spike in the caseload since it reported the first five-digit figures in late January of this year. Since then, the numbers have grown fast, surpassing 300,000 on March 9.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but remember the days when the Moon administration was gloating about their COVID policies and wanting it to be a model for the world. Looking back it appears the Swedes were right all along.