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Empty check-in lines at Incheon International Airport on Mar. 16. (Yonhap News)

Shortly after midnight on Mar. 16, the South Korean government expanded its special entry protocols to apply to all of Europe as COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, rapidly spreads around the world. The government is determined to stop the influx of the disease from other countries, after four people who’d visited Europe tested positive for the disease just on Mar. 14 and 15.

“We’re expanding the special entry protocols to all South Korean citizens and foreigners on all flights inbound from Europe,” said a spokesperson for South Korea’s Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH) on Monday. It also elevated the travel advisory to “refrain from travel,” the second-highest level, for 38 countries in Western and Central Europe. The countries to which these steps apply are members of the Schengen Agreement (which guarantees freedom of movement between 26 European countries) and the EU, including Spain, Germany, France, the UK, and the Vatican. These countries are frequent travel destinations for South Korean citizens.

“We’ll continue to look into the possibility of expanding the measures to the US and other regions,” the CDSCH spokesperson added.

According to figures provided by the CDSCH, 50 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in South Korea between January and Monday have involved people who’d entered the country from overseas (42 South Korean citizens and eight non-Koreans). Among this group, 22 people had visited Europe, with the largest number (eight) having visited Italy and the second-largest number (six) having visited France. Others had been to Spain, the Czech Republic, the UK, Germany, and Poland, with some visiting multiple countries, making it impossible to specify the source of the infection.

South Korea’s public health authorities are focusing on the fact that four people who’d arrived from Europe tested positive during quarantine measures on Mar. 14-15, representing quite a change from the complete lack of such cases from Jan. 29 to Mar. 13. All of the people testing positive were South Korean nationals; some had visited the Czech Republic or Italy, while others had been to several countries, including Spain, France, and the UK. As of Mar. 15, 76 of 1,391 people entering the country from Europe had given samples and been tested after exhibiting fever and other symptoms.

By Noh Ji-won and Park Min-hee, staff reporters

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