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Quarantine workers question and test travelers arriving from overseas at Incheon International Airport on Mar. 23. (photo pool)

More than one-fifth of South Korea’s newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Mar. 23 were people who’d entered the country from Europe and other locations overseas, suggesting that stopping the coronavirus from arriving via other countries is a top priority for preventing a third wave of infections. Given the repeated occurrence of infections linked to people arriving from overseas, South Korea’s public health authorities are expected to soon announce tougher quarantine measures for people entering from the US.

According to figures released by South Korea’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), 14 of 64 new COVID-19 cases, or 21.9% of the total, on Monday were people who had arrived from overseas. Six of those individuals had entered from Europe, and eight from the Americas. Among them, 13 were identified during quarantine procedures, while one was diagnosed after entering the country. Most of the people entering from Europe, who have all been tested for COVID-19 since Mar. 22, are South Korean citizens, including students.

COVID-19 cases entering from overseas

“A total of 1,442 people arrived from Europe on six flights on Sunday, and about 90% of those were South Korean nationals,” the KCDC said. Among the arrivals, 152 had suspicious symptoms and 1,290 didn’t exhibit any symptoms. Those without symptoms were tested at temporarily living facilities, including the Justice Ministry’s training center in Jincheon, North Chungcheong Province, and the Korea Expressway Corporation training center in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province. As of Monday evening, three of them had tested positive.

South Korea’s public health authorities are discussing additional ways to reinforce quarantine measures, including the possibility of testing everyone entering from the US. “There are twice as many people arriving from North America as from Europe,” said South Korean Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun during a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCHQ) on Monday. Chung called for tougher quarantine measures on people entering the country from the US.

“We’re currently working on a stricter quarantine plan for people arriving from countries outside of Europe. We’ll be announcing that before long,” said Yun Tae-ho, head of the disease control team at the Central Disaster Response Headquarters.

In order to test all arrivals from the US, authorities would have to secure the necessary personnel and budget. An average of 2,920 people has entered the country from North America during the four days (Mar. 19-22) since the special entry protocols were extended to everyone entering the country from overseas. While South Korea is currently able to process between 15,000 and 20,000 tests each day, most of that capacity is used to test suspicious symptoms at home and people arriving from Europe, leaving about 5,000 undone tests.

“We’re taking into account the management capacity and funding that would be needed for self-quarantine [of people entering the country] and the personnel and cost that would be needed to test them. We’re continuing to discuss how to respond to the level of risk [in each country],” said KCDC Director Jung Eun-kyeong.

Considering that most countries aren’t keeping out their own citizens, South Korea’s public health authorities maintain that their current approach — namely, focusing on preventing the influx of COVID-19 by identifying it at an early stage — is more effective than closing the borders altogether. When asked why South Korea hasn’t sealed its borders as European countries have done, Jung said, “The disease isn’t spreading as rapidly in South Korea as it is in European countries such as Italy and Germany. While there’s a considerable risk of cluster infections in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province, so far infections are only occurring sporadically in other parts of the country.”

Presented with the position, voiced in some quarters, that the government is wasting taxpayers’ money when it covers the cost of foreigners being tested for COVID-19, Jung flatly expressed her disagreement. “We’re concerned about the damage that would be suffered by the South Korean public if a single infected person makes it into the country and causes second- and third-generation transmission. That’s what we’re trying to prevent when we carry out these tests,” she said.

Under the current Quarantine Act, tests can be administered to individuals who are suspected of having an infectious disease. And since the object of the tests is to prevent transmission at the community level, Jung said, the government’s policy is to cover the cost of those tests.

“Since most of the people who are entering the country from Europe right now are South Korean citizens, a complete entry ban isn’t feasible. Foreigners only account for 10% of arrivals, so I don’t think it’s worth banning their entry given the economic and diplomatic circumstances. As we keep testing everyone as we’re doing right now, it’s important that we devise a way to spread out the testing burden to ensure that workers and resources aren’t overloaded,” said Kim Woo-ju, a professor of infectious disease at Korea University Guro Hospital.

In a related development, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Monday that it was issuing a special travel advisory recommending that South Korean citizens delay or cancel trips overseas, regardless of the destination, for the next month, through Apr. 23. The abrupt lockdown of borders and closure of airports in countries around the world is making it increasingly harder for South Koreans to make the journey home.

By Park Da-hae, Noh Ji-won, and Kim So-youn, staff reporters

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