Tag: coronavirus

I wonder how many of the travelers from the U.S. are returning Korean citizens?:

All arrivals from the United States are to be tested for the new coronavirus within three days of self-isolation, starting Monday, health authorities said. 

The strengthened measure against COVID-19 began midnight, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).

It comes as confirmed cases from the U.S. have been increasing steadily despite a gradual decline in domestic cases.

KCDC data showed that 228, or 49.7 percent, out of a total of 459 imported cases came from the U.S over the past two weeks. 

On Sunday, the number of imported cases was 24, with 18 of them coming from the U.S., followed by Europe with two.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

This is a pretty cool story about Marines on Okinawa showing initiative to produce face shields for medical personnel using 3D printers:

Armed with a cache of warehoused 3D printers and spools of orange thermoplastic, Marines have waged war against the coronavirus by turning out thousands of frames for face masks and face shields for use on Okinawa.

The III Marine Expeditionary Force’s 3rd Maintenance Battalion has 17 3D printers in a Camp Kinser warehouse “factory” running 24 hours per day to provide medical personnel with vital supplies and alleviate pressure on the supply chain as the virus gains a foothold on Okinawa. (…………..)

The Marines at Kinser were about to kick off a series of technology courses that involved 3D printing with Building Momentum, a Virginia-based, veteran-owned small business that specializes in technology training programs. Their “Innovation Boot Camp” was canceled due to the coronavirus, but Marines like Reynolds saw the potential in the 24 Creality Ender 3 Pro 3D printers stacked unopened against the warehouse wall.

“We were lucky enough to have the printers on hand,” he said.

With the blessing of Building Momentum, the battalion put its LulzBot TAZ 6 3D printers to the side and opened the Ender 3 printers, as well as spool after spool of orange polylactic acid filament, Reynolds said.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more and watch a video of the Marines at the link.

Before people begin panicking these cases are likely caused by inaccurate testing proclaiming them virus free. There has been many complaints about inaccurate tests from around the world:

More than 90 people who fully recovered from the novel coronavirus have tested positive for COVID-19 again, health authorities here said Friday.

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said a total of 91 people had tested positive for the new coronavirus after they were released from quarantine.

KCDC Director-General Jeong Eun-kyeong said a viral test on such cases is currently under way, with the results expected at least two weeks later, unlike regular swab tests used to test for COVID-19 that shows results in a relatively shorter time.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

The news continues to get better out of South Korea:

South Korea’s new coronavirus infections fell below 30 on Friday for the first time since Feb. 20, with the southeastern city of Daegu, once the nation’s epicenter, reporting no new cases for the first time. 

The 27 new cases, detected Thursday and down from 39 a day ago, brought the nation’s total infections to 10,450, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).

South Korea recorded around 50 or fewer daily new cases for a fifth day in a row, a sharp drop from the Feb. 29 peak of 909 new cases. But health authorities remain on high alert over cluster infections at churches and hospitals, as well as new cases coming from overseas.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

For Americans this news will not apply because the U.S. does not have a travel ban in place on South Korea. It will apply to a total of 88 countries which include Canada and Australia:

The government plans to bring into force a decision to temporarily suspend visa exemptions for countries imposing entry bans on South Koreans at an early date, a foreign ministry official said Wednesday. 

South Korea announced earlier that it will halt visa-free entry and visa waiver programs for countries that have barred the entry of South Koreans over coronavirus concerns, a move aimed at curbing the rise in imported cases that has emerged as a key factor behind the continuing virus outbreak.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Here is some good news from South Korea:

 South Korea’s new coronavirus cases hovered around 50 for the third straight day Wednesday, but the nation marked the grim milestone of 200 virus deaths. 

Health authorities renewed calls for people to maintain social distancing to curb the spread of the virus, as cluster infections at churches and hospitals, as well as new cases coming from overseas, are still rising steadily. 

The 53 new cases, detected Tuesday and up from 47 new cases a day ago, brought the nation’s total number of infections to 10,384, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but lets hope this a sign of an improving infection trend for South Korea.

Dr. Tara O makes a very compelling case that the international media should be looking at Taiwan as a great example of what to do to combat COVID-19 instead of South Korea:

Taiwan recognized the threat early on and rapidly began to take measures.  It inspected and screened travelers from Wuhan, the epicenter of the SARS CoV-2, as early as December 31, 2019.  It also actively monitored travelers from Wuhan who had already entered Taiwan on December 20, 2019 and onwards.  It had developed screening, testing, and quarantine protocols early based on lessons from the SARS 2003 outbreak.  It also engaged in aggressive contact tracing to ensure everyone that came into contact with an infected person was quarantined and tested.  On February 6, 2020, Taiwan banned travel from China.

Unlike Taiwan, South Korea never banned travel from China, although the Korean Medical Association (KMA) and the public called for such measures multiple times.  South Korea eventually restricted travel from Wuhan on February 2, 2020, but it was not until after China had already quarantined the City of Wuhan on January 23, 2020.  KMA, on February 3, made its fifth request to the government to ban entry from China, saying South Korea is losing its “golden time” of prevention, and it will become “regional spreads.” KMA also highlighted inadequate tracking of visitors from China.  KMA’s concerns and the government’s inadequate tracing are not reflected in foreign reports that praise South Korea’s tracing.

On January 31, 2020, 11,345 people traveled from China to South Korea.  Multiplying by 30 days, that would be more than 340,350 people in one month.  If 1% were infected with the coronavirus, that would be 3,403 infected people entering South Korea.

East Asia Research Center

I highly recommend reading the rest at the link.

What I think Dr. O is getting after is that the international media has been heaping great praise on President Moon’s response to COVID-19 without mentioning his administration’s previous missteps which also included lack of masks and testing. Even the testing today there is misinformation in the international media about free testing in South Korea, but don’t mention that a sick person needs to have a CT Scan or an X-ray done before a coronavirus test can be conducted. The cost of the CT scan and X-ray could dissuade people from getting tested.

The only reason why I can think of that the international media isn’t instead lavishing praise on Taiwan is because they don’t want to deal with the backlash from China. So the Moon administration has become a better example to damage the Trump administration with. Pointing out the Moon administration’s failings does not help with that goal and thus why they only focus on things that the Moon administration has done right.

Anyone else have any alternate theories on why the international media is not focusing on what the Moon administration has done wrong?