SEOUL, March 3 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea reported more than 240,000 new coronavirus cases for the first time as the highly transmissible omicron variant rages across the nation, health officials said Thursday. As of 9 p.m., the country had reported 244,889 new COVID-19 cases, up 58,720 from the same time the previous day, according [...]
SEOUL, March 3 (Korea Bizwire) — The effort to bring up the rate of individuals receiving 3rd booster shots for COVID-19 is being curtailed as the government lifted the so-called ‘vaccine pass’ policy on Tuesday, which was originally introduced to encourage vaccinations. Korea’s Central Disease Control Headquarters reported that only 61.4 percent of the population [...]
SEOUL, March 3 (Korea Bizwire) — Seoul National University (SNU) Hospital said Wednesday it had provided Kakao Corp., the operator of South Korea’s top mobile messenger KakaoTalk, with medical information and advice concerning COVID-19 self-test and at-home treatment. On the basis of the information SNU Hospital offered, Kakao established a ‘COVID-19 self-test chatbot’ offered via [...]
SEJONG, March 2 (Korea Bizwire) — The average income of singers and actors declined but that of athletes increased in 2020 in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Tuesday. The combined income of the nation’s 8,068 singers who reported business income in 2020 totaled 261.7 billion won (US$217 million), with an average per-capita [...]
SEOUL, March 1 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s new COVID-19 infections on Tuesday surpassed the grim milestone of 200,000 for the first time amid the fast spread of the omicron variant. According to health authorities and local governments, a total of 204,960 cases had been confirmed nationwide as of 9 p.m., up 71,043 from the [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 28 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s daily COVID-19 cases fell below 140,000 on Monday, but virus-related deaths soared to a record high, as the government suspended the enforcement of the vaccine pass system as part of efforts to free up resources and focus more on treating seriously ill patients. The country reported 139,626 [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 28 (Korea Bizwire) — With a surging number of COVID-19 patients infected with the omicron variant, people are seeking loopholes to get polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests as mistrust of self-test kits rises. Since February, only people over 60 years of age and those who have entered into physical contact with a COVID-19 [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 28 (Korea Bizwire) — Rose, a member of K-pop girl group BLACKPINK, tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday and canceled part of her upcoming overseas schedule, the group’s agency said. “Rose tested positive in a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) examination ahead of her departure for an overseas trip today,” YG Entertainment said, adding [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 28 (Korea Bizwire) — The enforcement of vaccine passes at restaurants, cafes and other multiuse facilities will be temporarily lifted starting Tuesday to reduce the burden of health workers mobilized to issue negative test certificates, Interior Minister Jeon Hae-cheol said Monday. Speaking at an interagency COVID-19 response meeting, Jeon said the decision will [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 27 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s daily COVID-19 cases stayed below 170,000 for the third straight day Sunday, but critical cases from the virus continued to rise at a fast pace amid the spread of the highly contagious omicron variant. The country reported 163,566 new coronavirus infections, including 163,414 local cases, raising the [...]