Really the only thing South Korea can do next to curb the virus is to make people shelter in place, which I don’t will work anyway:
Citizens wait to get vaccinated against COVID-19 at an inoculation center in Seoul on Aug. 11, 2021, when the country reported 2,223 new cases, the first time the figure has topped 2,000. (Yonhap)
South Korea’s daily new coronavirus cases reached a new high of over 2,200 on Wednesday since the start of the pandemic in January last year in the face of monthlong toughened virus curbs and a slower than expected vaccination campaign.
The country added 2,223 COVID-19 cases, including 2,145 local infections, raising the total caseload to 216,206, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).
The latest caseload was up 683 from 1,540 the previous day. The country added one more deaths from COVID-19, raising the death toll to 2,135.
The latest variant of the coronavirus has been confirmed to have arrived in Korea. I guess we will see if the Moon administration is going to use this news to justify even stricter lockdowns:
People wait for possible adverse reactions after receiving shots at a Covid-19 vaccination center in Seongnam, Gyeonggi on Monday. More than 20 million people in Korea have received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine.
Korea confirmed its first two cases of the Delta Plus variant of Covid-19 on Tuesday — and both patients were fully vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said Tuesday that the Delta plus variant was found in a man in his 40s who had no recent travel record, and in someone recently returned from the U.S.
The Delta Plus variant is a mutation of the Delta variant and it has three sub-lineages: AY.1, AY.2 and AY.3.
Delta Plus cases have been found in around 20 countries, including the U.S., Britain, Portugal, Japan and China, while the original highly contagious Delta strain has now spread to more than 130 countries.
Wow I can’t believe this is still happening even under the highest restrictions (in which people can still go to work, hang out in cafes, eat in restaurants, drink in bars, attend church… as long as they go two at a time and only until 10) https://t.co/tOUNsDe5XV
This incident shows how living in close quarters leads to super spreader events:
This undated file photo shows South Korea’s 4,400-ton Munmu the Great destroyer. (Yonhap)
A total of 247 sailors of the 301-strong Cheonghae unit on an anti-piracy mission in waters off Africa have tested positive for the coronavirus, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Monday, confirming a widely feared mass infection, seen as the worst in South Korea’s military.
An additional 179 have newly tested positive after 69 were confirmed infected Sunday, the JCS said.
“Test results on all the 301 crewmembers of the Cheonghae unit showed that 247 tested positive and 50 negative. Samples of four individuals were undecipherable,” the JCS said in a release.
All the service members are expected to return home Tuesday as the government decided to airlift all and sent two KC-330 aerial tankers to Africa on Sunday.
When I see these reports it would be more informational if we knew if any of these people had the vaccine and if so what symptoms did they have?:
South Korea recorded 1,212 COVID-19 infections Wednesday, its highest on-day number of patients this year and the second highest of the pandemic.
U.S. Forces Korea, meanwhile, announced that 19 people had tested positive for the coronavirus respiratory disease between June 29 and July 2.
The surge in cases, which forced Seoul to suspend plans to ease pandemic restrictions related to masks and social distancing, came the same day that public tours were temporarily halted to the Joint Security Area at the border between the two Koreas.
Virus resurgence Citizens form a long line to get tested at a COVID-19 testing station at the Olympic Park in southern Seoul on July 7, 2021, amid mass infections at a department store in the area and the resurgence of the virus nationwide. (Yonhap)
It looks like soon the remaining 30% of US military personnel not vaccinated will have to get the shot:
The Army is directing commands to prepare to administer mandatory COVID-19 vaccines as soon as Sept. 1, Army Times is reporting.
The Department of the Army Headquarters has sent an executive order to commands that the vaccines will become mandatory “on or around 01 September 2021 pending full Food and Drug Administration licensure.”
Isolation exemptions Entrants who have gotten vaccinated against COVID-19 pass through an exit exclusive for such passengers upon arrival at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, on July 6, 2021, as they were exempted from a two-week isolation. (Yonhap)
It looks like people in Seoul can probably expect new restrictions in the coming days:
People stand in line to get COVID-19 testing at a temporary screening station in western Seoul on July 6, 2021.
South Korea confirmed over 1,000 new coronavirus cases Tuesday for the first time in six months amid a resurgence in the Seoul metropolitan area, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.
The country reported 1,006 more COVID-19 cases from 12 a.m. to 6 p.m. and the number is expected to further rise when the daily total is announced Wednesday morning.
The figure shot up to over 1,000 for the first time since Jan. 3 when the nation was undergoing a third wave of the pandemic, raising concerns over the fourth wave hitting in the summer.
Eased social distancing rules An employee puts up a sign at a restaurant in Seoul on June 28, 2021, to inform customers that gatherings of up to six people are allowed starting July 1 under the eased social distancing rules amid the coronavirus pandemic. Under the new Level 2 distancing, the ban on gatherings of five or more people will be eased to six people until July 14 in the greater Seoul area before the ceiling goes up to eight. (Yonhap)
