South Korea

South Korea’s biggest city has a new mayor, and he’s looking to change the way the national capital is dealing with the coronavirus.

Late last week, the CDC said people who are fully vaccinated can travel “at low risk to themselves.” That helps bring a closer focus on the idea of “vaccination passports”—a concept under review in several Asian countries.

Hawai‘i’s Department of Health continues to administer the Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson and Johnson vaccines—the same ones in use for the rest of the United States. But in many parts of Asia, one of the key vaccines in play is the one from AstraZeneca—and the pace is picking up this week.

You may have seen the headline this week that Washington and Seoul have reached an agreement on a cost-sharing agreement for U.S. troops based in South Korea. But there’s a deeper story behind the numbers.

It’s been another eventful week for news, but not all of it concerns the coronavirus. South Korea marked a pair of events this week that show its growing “soft power”-or influence on the global stage.

The continuing pandemic has touched the lives of hundreds of millions of people around the world — both directly and indirectly. Much less is known about its impact on animals. One capital city in the Asia Pacific is taking a step to learn more.

Starting today, visitors from South Korea can skip quarantine here if they have a negative COVID test from a trusted partner. These are challenging times for international travel, but tourism organizations in the Asia Pacific are still working on plans for the future.

Starting next week, travelers from South Korea will be able to join Hawaii's Safe Travels program — allowing those with a negative COVID test from a "trusted partner" to skip any quarantine. That news comes as South Korea has just announced its next steps to fight the virus.

The early days of the Biden Administration have been busy. One focus has been steps to control the pandemic and increase the distribution of vaccines. But a wide variety of other issues remain — including some with one of America's closest allies in the Asia Pacific.

The coronavirus pandemic continues to have a broad impact around the world, and not only with illness, death and economic disruption. The virus is showing up as one reason for a declining birthrate in some locations — including South Korea. But that's not the whole story.

Many states and countries are struggling with a rise in the number of cases of coronavirus. That includes South Korea, where tomorrow there will be an additional focus across the country — one that will be complicated by the virus.

As the coronavirus continues to spread in the United States and elsewhere, some locations are experiencing new waves of cases. And this week, that includes Hong Kong and South Korea.

Governments around the world are taking different steps to fight the spread of the coronavirus. In South Korea’s capital, that means a new round of restrictions is about to kick in — less than a month after they were reduced.

On Oahu, everyone from the police chief to the mayor is asking people to be careful this Halloween, and not gather in crowds. That message is also being delivered in Asia — particularly in South Korea.

Tomorrow, Hawaii will start the state’s new pre-travel testing program — a first step to increase the number of visitors.  Some locations in the Asia Pacific are slowly loosening certain restrictions related to the virus, and that includes South Korea.

South Korea has been making progress in its continuing battle against the coronavirus. The country was hit early, reduced the number of cases and saw them spike again. The numbers are declining once more, but health officials are worried about next week.

Professional sports are back in a big way in the United States, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. The National Football League opened its season yesterday, while playoffs are underway for basketball and hockey. Major League Baseball is approaching the end of its regular season, but in parts of Asia, that season will stretch a bit longer.

Locations around the world continue to adjust their policies to halt the spread of the coronavirus. This week, South Korea has again tightened restrictions on movement — while targeting younger adults.

Honolulu is not the only city in the Asia Pacific that’s reversing some steps of re-opening. South Korea’s capital city is taking some new actions to flatten its curve of new infections — and more may be coming.

The spread of COVID-19 has led to many changes in daily life. But in some places, those changes go beyond wearing masks and social distancing.

It’s been a week since U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper announced plans to withdraw nearly 12,000 U.S. troops from Germany. In the Asia Pacific, that has brought new attention to talks going on about U.S. forces in South Korea.

The number of coronavirus cases in Hawaii saw some sharp daily increases at the end of last week. Cases are growing steadily in several other parts of the United States. One overseas country that had early success with the virus is now facing a new challenge.

The number of visitors to Hawaii has been creeping higher in recent weeks, and there’s a growing focus on how to enforce the 14-day quarantine. South Korea has been using a method for months that’s now moving to a new level.

Professional sports are on hold all over the world during the coronavirus pandemic. But that is starting to change—with some baseball games in Asia. And now they’re on the air in the United States.

Attention is increasingly shifting to the cautious and limited re-opening of some areas around the world. And there’s great interest on research and development that can help with that goal. A lot of that work is being done in the Asia Pacific.