This decision kind of seemed inevitable and it has now in fact happened:

The Army has halted moves to new assignments for troops stationed in South Korea through May in a bid to slow the spread of the new coronavirus, officials said Sunday.

The decision, which was announced a day after the Army unveiled the same measures for troops based in Italy, also affects travel for professional military education in the United States.

Both U.S. allies are in the midst of major outbreaks of the virus, with more than 7,300 confirmed cases in South Korea and nearly 6,000 in Italy.

The Army has ordered a stop for “all Army soldiers and family members moving to or from South Korea or soldiers scheduled to attend professional military education in the United States due to COVID-19 concerns,” U.S. Forces Korea said in a statement.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

Some rare good news out of South Korea in regards to the coronavirus:

The number of new coronavirus infections in South Korea continued to rise, with an additional 179 cases confirmed Sunday, bringing the total to 7,313.

The number of newly added confirmed cases is lower than 367 additional cases of COVID-19 released on Saturday, the slowest on-day gain since Feb. 26, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC). 

It marked the first time in 11 days the number of new infections fell to below 400, possibly offering signs of containment.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Please leave anything you want to discuss in the comments section.

If dogs can be infected with the coronavirus could they spread it as well?

A pet dog in Hong Kong has contracted COVID-19 from its owner in what could be the first known human-to-animal transmission, local health authorities said Wednesday.

The Pomeranian is now under quarantine after repeated tests confirmed a “low-level infection” of the virus, though it shows no symptoms of the disease, a spokesman for Hong Kong’s Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department said.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

It appears the Chinese propaganda apparatus is now beginning their inevitable shift to blaming foreign countries for spreading the coronavirus within China:

China reported an increase Tuesday in cases of the new coronavirus coming from abroad, as the country where the disease first emerged now worries about importing infections.

In total there have been 13 confirmed cases of the virus being imported to the mainland — all in Chinese nationals returning from overseas.

More than 3,100 people have died and over 90,000 have been infected worldwide.

The vast majority of cases are in China, but South Korea, Italy and Iran have emerged as the countries with the most cases outside the epicentre.

Eight Chinese nationals who worked in the same restaurant in Italy’s northern Lombardy region have tested positive for the virus in eastern Zhejiang province, according to the local government.

They flew home to China from Italy last week.

AFP

You can read more at the link, but I have little faith in the numbers being reported out of China. It seems pretty coincidental that once the markets started tanking and companies began considering pulling out of China that suddenly news turned good that the Chinese were getting the coronavirus under control. Now as new cases pop up the Chinese propaganda apparatus can blame its spread on foreigners.

Suki Kim has an article in the New Yorker that compares the Moon administration’s response to the coronavirus outbreak to how the former Park administration responded to the Sewol ferry tragedy:

Three years after Moon campaigned on a promise of governing more effectively during an emergency than Park, the incumbent’s response to one has resembled that of his predecessor. After the ferry disaster, Park blamed the tragedy on the ship’s owner, a founder of a different religious group also considered a cult. After the Park administration issued an arrest warrant for the ferry owner, he went into hiding. Eventually, he was found dead, an apparent suicide. On March 1st, the city of Seoul, whose mayor, like Moon, is a member of the Democratic Party, asked prosecutors to charge Lee Man-hee, the founder of the Shincheonji Church, and the religious group’s other leaders for murder for their alleged role in spreading covid-19. 

The New Yorker

I recommend reading the whole thing at the link.