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Foreign nationals arriving from London are escorted to quarantine facilities from Incheon International Airport on Mar. 24. (Yonhap News)

A 23-year-old surnamed Lee, who had been studying in London, arrived at Incheon International Airport at 3 pm on Mar. 22. Although Lee didn’t have a fever or any respiratory symptoms, he was transported to the Sangnok Resort, in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, a temporary housing facility for people without symptoms, where he was tested for COVID-19. That same day, the government had made it mandatory for everyone arriving from Europe to be tested for the novel coronavirus. Lee was tested for COVID-19 at 11 pm that night, eight hours after arriving. After his test came back negative around 11 am the next morning, he was released from the facility and instructed to go into self-quarantine.

“K” and “L,” two South Korean students who returned from France at 4 pm on the same day, had suspicious symptoms, but there wasn’t any room for them at the quarantine facility. After being tested at the quarantine center at Incheon Airport, K traveled to a relative’s house in Wonju, Gangwon Province, while L returned to his home in Goseong County, Gangwon Province. Both tested positive for COVID-19 while in self-quarantine. All of the family members and relatives they came into contact with while in transit have been put under self-quarantine.

On Mar. 24, the public health authorities revised their quarantine measures for people entering the country from Europe, just two days after they mandated testing for all arrivals from Europe. Under the revised rules, South Koreans arriving without symptoms will be placed under self-quarantine, instead of being sent to temporary facilities, and will be tested within three days. The goal of this adjustment is to ensure that people with suspicious symptoms, like K and L, don’t have to move around, potentially putting them in contact with other people, because of a lack of space at quarantine facilities, and that people don’t have to wait so long to get tested, as Lee did.

The biggest reason for the policy adjustment is that the number of people with suspicious symptoms far exceeded the expectations of the public health authorities. That made it necessary to maximize public health capabilities by focusing limited quarantine resources and housing facilities on people with suspicious symptoms. Furthermore, a long waiting period for testing is not only inconvenient but also increases the risk of transmission.

“When the measures were implemented on Mar. 22, there were more people with suspicious symptoms than expected, resulting in an unnecessary wait at the airport. Another issue with having them wait so long at the airport [quarantine center] is that it increases the risk of cross infection,” said Koh Deuk-yeong, head of the monitoring support team at South Korea’s Central Accident Response Headquarters.

And so, since 2 pm on Tuesday, South Koreans without symptoms who enter the country are being placed under self-quarantine rather than being sent to temporary facilities. They’re required to be tested for COVID-19 at their local public clinics within three days of arriving in the country. However, non-Koreans will still be placed in quarantine facilities and tested, even if they don’t have any symptoms; if their test comes back positive, they’ll be placed under self-quarantine or active surveillance.

Since South Koreans without symptoms no longer have to wait for testing at a temporary facility, some of the 1,000 rooms at quarantine facilities that had been set aside for people waiting to be tested after entering the country are being converted into quarantine rooms for those with suspicious symptoms. Previously, there had only been 140 rooms (including 50 in Incheon Airport’s central quarantine medical center) for people with symptoms.

“We’re trying to prepare adequately for the possibility of a gradual increase in suspicious symptoms among people arriving from Europe,” explained Kwon Jun-wook, deputy director of the South Korean Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).

The public health authorities also hinted at the possibility of testing everyone entering the country from the US. “We’re currently looking into and preparing for several measures [related to people arriving from the US] so that we can do our best to implement these measures consistently,” Kwon said.

On Tuesday, 22 of the 76 new cases of COVID-19, representing 28.9% of the total, occurred among people arriving from overseas, the KCDC said.

By Park Da-hae, Noh Ji-won, and Park Jun-yong, staff reporters

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