Here is some good news for service members in Area IV:

Clusters of new cases at Yongsan Garrison in Seoul and at Humphreys prompted weeklong lockdowns starting Jan. 15 while health authorities tracked down potentially infected individuals.

“Area IV’s record of success — including low confirmed cases, zero on-installation positive cases since April 2020, and their reduction of the threat to the community — have contributed to USFK’s decision to adjust its HPCON level to Bravo in Area IV,” USFK commander Gen. Robert Abrams said in the release.

The last USFK case reported in the area involved a service member’s dependent who tested positive on April 25 after returning from a trip to the United States.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

Here is the latest coronavirus infections in USFK:

Nine USFK-affiliated individuals tested positive for COVID-19 on Jan. 29 and Feb. 4.One U.S. service member stationed at K-16 Air Base in Seongnam, tested positive on Jan. 29 after providing a screening sample as part of USFK’s enhanced surveillance testing program.Five U.S. service members stationed at Camp Casey and one U.S. service member stationed on Camp Carroll, each tested positive on Feb. 4 after providing a screening sample as part of USFK’s enhanced surveillance testing program.One ROK service member, who is assigned to a combined US-ROK unit stationed on U.S. Army Garrison – Humphreys, tested positive on Feb. 4 during his mandatory test required to exit quarantine.

The spouse of a U.S. service member assigned to U.S. Army Garrison – Humphreys and has access to the installation, tested positive on Feb. 4 during her mandatory test required to exit quarantine. All individuals are currently in isolation at a USAG – Humphreys facility designated for confirmed COVID-19 cases.

USFK Facebook page

You can read more at the link.

Some good news on the coronavirus front in Japan:

The daily count of new coronavirus patients in Tokyo fell on Friday, and U.S. military bases in Japan reported 12 new cases as of 6 p.m.

Yokosuka Naval Base, 35 miles south of central Tokyo, reported 10 of those new U.S. cases. The others were at Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government recorded another 577 people infected with the coronavirus, according to public broadcaster NHK. That’s eight consecutive days below 1,000 new cases in the city, according to metro government data. (…….)

Back in Japan, the Army and Marine Corps on Okinawa lifted a two-week-old ban on off-base liberty, effective immediately for the Army and at 4 p.m. Saturday for the Marines, according to Facebook posts.

The bans extended to service members, Defense Department civilian employees, contractors and family members.

Some activities are still prohibited, including indoor dining at off-base restaurants, and patronizing bars, clubs, bowling alleys, gyms and other indoor activities that involve large groups “that impede social distancing.”

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

I wonder if this really is to cool the real estate market or is it just an attempt by the government to make money from the hot real estate market?:

The government is expected to announce a plan this week to provide a total of 850,000 homes to cool down the overheated property market, government and parliamentary officials said Wednesday.

Under the plan, likely to be unveiled Thursday, about 325,000 units will be supplied in Seoul, and the rest in other major cities, including Busan, Daegu and Gwangju, where property prices have soared over the recent months, the officials said. 

Public companies like Korea Land & Housing Corp. and Seoul Housing & Communities Corp. will lead the project to offer quality housing at lower prices, they said.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

This just shows that Iran’s hostage taking works:

 South Korea is finalizing talks with the United States about using some of Iran’s money frozen in Seoul under U.S. sanctions to pay Tehran’s U.N. dues in arrears, a foreign ministry official said Wednesday. 

Such progress in the talks for solutions to unblock the Iranian assets in South Korea appears to have affected Tehran’s decision to release most of the crew members of a seized South Korean oil tanker, according to the official. 

On Tuesday, Tehran said its judiciary gave permission to free the sailors, except for the captain, from the MT Hankuk Chemi that has been seized by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps since Jan. 4 over allegedly polluting the ocean. Twenty sailors were aboard the ship, including five South Koreans. 

Despite the Iranian government’s denial, speculation has mounted that the ship seizure might be related to Tehran’s discontent over its US$7 billion locked in South Korean banks due to U.S. sanctions.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but if you are a South Korean citizen traveling in areas with authoritarian regimes just remember you are a prime hostage target.