Tag: COVID-19

So it begins:

South Korea loosened its COVID-19 social distancing measures Monday following “public fatigue” from the prolonged pandemic response and the increased number of vaccinations. The government’s plan, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, is to ease restrictions over three steps, each lasting four weeks, followed by a two-week evaluation period. Each step will introduce new business hours, curfews and limits to public gatherings.

Public businesses in metropolitan areas have been typically open until 10 p.m. during the pandemic. Under the plan announced Monday, restaurants and cafes are allowed open for their normal business hours. Time restrictions and music bans at gyms and bathhouses were also lifted.

The Health and Welfare ministry described its step-by-step plan as “the roadmap for gradual return to normal,” with the goal of becoming “the better Korea.” (………)

U.S. Forces Korea, the military command responsible for roughly 28,500 troops on the peninsula, announced last month that the South Korean government would recognize proof-of-vaccination cards issued for U.S. service members.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

It will be interesting to see how effective these COVID patrols are going to be over the weekend:

South Korean police in metropolitan districts will be cracking down on COVID-19 violations over Halloween weekend, particularly in areas frequented by foreigners and young adults.

Roughly 200 additional police officers and city workers from Yongsan, Hongdae, Itaewon and other popular districts in Seoul will conduct joint patrols between Thursday and Sunday, a senior law enforcement official told Stars and Stripes on the customary condition of anonymity.

“Patrollers, including city council officers and cops, will check whether folks are keeping a safe distance from others, wearing masks and avoiding large gatherings,” the senior law enforcement official said Wednesday. “We’ll visit businesses and guide folks to follow disinfection guidance as well.”

Although Halloween is not officially observed in the country, the holiday prompts parties and other events catered toward younger crowds and foreigners. Districts like Itaewon and Hongdae in Seoul are known for their foreigner-friendly businesses and are home to numerous bars and nightclubs.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

Like many other places in the world it appears that the spread of the coronavirus is now seeing sharp drop in cases in South Korea as well:

 South Korea’s daily coronavirus cases dropped to the lowest level in more than three months Monday as the country eased restrictions on private gatherings ahead of preparations for a gradual shift to the “living with COVID-19” scheme. 

The country reported 1,050 new cases, including 1,030 local infections, raising the total caseload to 343,445, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.

Monday’s tally is the lowest daily number since July 7, when the country reported 1,211 additional virus cases on the onset of the fourth wave of the pandemic. The daily cases have since stayed in the quadruple digits, including the record high of 3,273 on Sept. 25.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but hopefully the cases continues to drop so some kind of normal life can return to the people and small businesses in South Korea.

It looks like South Korea is looking at becoming the latest country to accept reality and figure out how to live with COVID:

South Korea said Sunday it will set up a committee this week for a strategy on the “New Normal” of “living with COVID-19,” with the vaccination campaign picking up speed.

The government plans to hold the inaugural meeting of the committee later this week, presided over by Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum, according to health authorities. 

Private sector experts are expected to participate in the meeting with government officials to discuss ways to carry out the envisioned transition in the economic, education, security, coronavirus control and quarantine sectors.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It took a while to get going, but once the infrastructure was in place South Korea has made quick gains getting their population the COVID vaccine:

Nine out of 10 South Korean adults have received at least one shot of COVID-19 vaccine, helping the country to get closer to a goal of creating herd immunity, the health authority said Tuesday.

A total of 39.7 million people have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, accounting for 77.4 percent of the country’s 51.3 million population or 90 percent of those aged over 18, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). 

The number of fully vaccinated people stood at 27.2 million, or 53 percent of the total or 61.6 percent of the adult population, the KDCA said. 

Health authorities expressed optimism that the country will be able to fully inoculate over 70 percent of the population by the end of October thanks to people’s willingness to get vaccinations and smooth vaccine supplies

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Good news in Japan with COVID cases steeply dropping and the Japanese have been able to do this without any strict lockdown measures:

 The number of new coronavirus cases in Japan’s capital city fell below 300 Tuesday for the first time since June.

Tokyo reported another 253 newly infected people, the lowest figure in the virus-wracked metropolitan area since 236 on June 21, according to public broadcaster NHK and metro data online. For six consecutive days, the number of new infections has registered below 1,000 as the fifth and most extreme wave of COVID-19 appears to have waned.

Two U.S. military bases in Japan reported seven new cases on Tuesday.

Stars and Stripes

Like South Korea, Japan has been very good at keeping the COVID death rate low compared to other countries:

Japan on Monday reported 2,236 new coronavirus cases, and 23 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. Japan has counted nearly 1.7 million individual cases and 17,427 deaths during the pandemic. 

More than half of its population, 53.23%, or 67.2 million, people are fully vaccinated, according to the Johns Hopkins center.

Japan has weathered the pandemic with a loss in fewer lives than other developed nations.

Argentina, a nation with a population 34% that of Japan’s, has suffered more than 5.2 million cases and 114,000 deaths, according to the World Health Organization.

You can read more at the link.

It is a bit surprising how slow the roll out for the vaccine has been in South Korea:

South Korea’s daily coronavirus cases dropped under 1,800 on Sunday as health authorities try to stem virus infections ahead of a major holiday amid persistent infections in the greater Seoul area. 

The number of fully vaccinated people surpassed the 20 million mark, representing 39 percent of the population, with a nationwide effort to boost vaccination rates.

Yonhap

Meanwhile in Japan despite their initial slow start, they have reached a 50% vaccination rate:

Japan’s government says more than 50% of the population has been fully vaccinated.

Japan’s vaccine rollouts began in mid-February, months behind many wealthy countries due to its lengthy clinical testing requirement and approval process. Inoculations for elderly patients, which started in April, were also slowed by supply shortages of imported vaccines, but the pace picked up in late May and has since achieved 1 million doses per day.

Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura, who is in charge of COVID-19 measures, told NHK public television’s weekly talk show Sunday that about 60% of the population is expected to be fully vaccinated by the end of September, on par with current levels in Europe.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the links.

The COVID spread is getting worse in USFK:

 U.S. Forces Korea on Tuesday announced the fastest surge of new coronavirus cases among its personnel, surpassing a record set in July.

Forty people, including U.S. military family members and South Korean contractors, tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday and Friday, the command said in a news release. The previous record was 37 infections over a three-day span between July 5 and 7.

Fifty-one USFK personnel tested positive between Aug. 23 and Friday, which is, so far, fewer than the previous record of 58 cases during a weeklong period in July.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link, but according to the article half the cases are at Osan Airbase. It is unknown if the higher number of positives had anything to do with the maskless party recently held at the Enlisted Club.

It was inevitable that South Korea was going to have to issue booster shots to deal with variants of the coronavirus:

South Korea’s daily new coronavirus cases fell below 1,500 on Monday due to fewer tests over the weekend, with the country planning to offer booster shots to those who have been fully vaccinated in the fourth quarter to cope with the variant strains. 

The country added 1,487 more COVID-19 cases, including 1,426 local infections, raising the total caseload to 250,051, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).

Monday’s tally marked a drop from 1,793 on Saturday and 1,619 on Sunday. The number of patients normally falls over the weekend and rises later in the week as more people get tested.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.