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A30 world news
Diahuebs 4 Februari 2021

S. Korea steps up virus prevention for holiday

WHO grants the AstraZen- bars and other business own-
eca vaccines for emergency ers that defy mandatory or-
use. Unlike the Pfizer vac- ders for shorter service hours
cines, which are required to or closures can be fined up to
be stored in extremely cold 300,000 yen ($2,860). Fines
temperatures, AstraZeneca of up to 500,000 yen ($4,760)
vaccines can last for months can be imposed on infected
in the temperatures of a nor- people who refuse to be hos-
mal refrigerator. This makes pitalized, and up to 300,000
them easier to roll out in ($2,860) to those who refuse
countries with poor health to cooperate with health au-
care systems like North Ko- thorities in contact tracing
rea. With a population of and other surveys. Daily new
more than 25 million, North cases have declined since
Korea is by far the largest na- January, but serious cases are
tion yet to report a single case still putting pressure on hos-
of the virus, although there's pitals, experts say. The health
widespread skepticism over ministry reports Japan had
leader Kim Jong Un's claim 393,836 confirmed cases and
of a perfect record in keeping 5,912 confirmed deaths as of
out the "evil" virus. Describ- Tuesday.
ing its anti-virus campaign
as a matter of "national ex- — New Zealand's medical
(AP) — South Korean of- The Korea Disease Control ing the first half of the year. istence," the country has se- regulator has approved its
ficials are taking steps to and Prevention Agency said The Worth Health Organiza- verely restricted cross-border first coronavirus vaccine, and
limit travel and gatherings Wednesday that it found four tion-backed COVAX facility traffic, banned tourists, flown officials hope to begin inocu-
during next week's Lunar cases of the British variant said in a forecast published out diplomats and mobilized lating border workers by the
New Year's holidays, al- and one case of the South Af- Wednesday that the supplies tens of thousands of health end of March. Medsafe on
lowing train operators to rican variant where virus car- going to North Korea will workers to screen entry Wednesday gave provisional
sell only window seats and riers were infected locally. likely be provided by India's points, monitor residents and approval for the vaccine de-
passenger vessels to oper- Serum Institute, which is li- isolate those with symptoms. veloped by Pfizer and BioN-
ate at half capacity, as they Since October, health work- censed to produce vaccines Tech for people aged 16 and
fight a steady rise in coro- ers have found 39 cases of AstraZeneca developed with — Japan has enacted legisla- over. Prime Minister Jacinda
navirus transmissions. new variants of the virus that the University of Oxford. tion allowing officials to en- Ardern welcomed the devel-
causes COVID-19, also in- COVAX said it expects to force coronavirus measures opment, saying it meant the
Senior Health Ministry of- cluding a form that was first globally distribute 336 mil- by punishing violators of country could begin prepar-
ficial Yoon Taeho announced identified in Brazil, but the lion doses of the AstraZeneca mandatory orders with fines. ing for its vaccine rollout.
the plans on Wednesday while previous cases were interna- vaccine, most of them pro- This comes as the country New Zealand has no com-
repeating a plea for people to tional arrivals. duced by Serum, and another struggles to slow a wave of munity transmission of the
stay home. He said officials 1.2 million doses of vaccine infections amid growing un- virus, and border workers are
will strengthen sanitization In all five of the locally trans- Pfizer jointly developed with certainty about the distribu- considered the most vulner-
and install more thermal mitted cases, the virus carri- BioNTech during the first six tion of vaccines considered able to catching and spread-
cameras at train stations, bus ers had been infected from months of the year. It says the key to holding the Olympics ing the disease because they
terminals and airports. Trav- relatives who recently arrived doses cover, on average, 3.3% this summer. The legislation deal with arriving travelers,
elers will be required to be from abroad, the agency said. of the population of the 145 was passed by the parlia- some of whom are infected.
masked at all times and will countries participating in the ment and enacted into law However, New Zealand's
be prohibited from eating The KDCA said it is expand- program. COVAX provided the day after Prime Minister success in stamping out the
food at highway rest areas. ing contact tracing to deter- its estimate with caveats, say- Yoshihide Suga extended an virus also means it will need
mine whether the new vari- ing that actual allocation and ongoing non-binding state to wait longer than many
Officials have also extended a ants could have circulated delivery of the vaccines could of emergency in Tokyo and other countries to get vaccine
clampdown on private social further. be affected by manufacturing nine other urban areas by one doses for the general popula-
gatherings of five or more and operational issues, readi- month until March 7. Under tion. Officials say they hope
people, which they enforce It also called for administra- ness of receiving countries the revised laws that take ef- to begin general inoculations
by fining restaurants and oth- tive officials to strengthen and whether and when the fect next week, restaurants, by midyear.
er businesses if they accept monitoring of passengers
large groups. Indoor dining arriving from abroad so that
at restaurants in the greater they minimize their contact
capital area will continue to with other people during
be prohibited after 9 p.m. their two-week quarantine
period, which in many cases
Lunar New Year is celebrated can be done at home.
around Asia and a popular
time for people to travel to South Korea reported 467
visit their relatives. China new infections of the coro-
also has tried to discourage navirus on Wednesday, which
travel during the holiday to brought the national caseload
avoid the risk of viral out- to 79,311, including 1,441
breaks. deaths.
The holiday will come just In other developments in the
after South Korean health Asia-Pacific region:
officials detected the first lo- — An international health
cal transmissions of what are group established to promote
feared to be more contagious global access to coronavirus
forms of the virus first iden- vaccines says North Korea
tified in Britain and South could potentially receive 1.9
Africa. million doses of vaccines
manufactured in India dur-