hankyoreh

Passengers in protective suits arrive at Incheon International Airport from Qingdao, China, on Apr. 3. (Yonhap News)

South Korea’s disease control authorities announced on Apr. 5 that stern punishment awaits a South Korean student who took fever medication to suppress coronavirus symptoms before arriving from the US. The student tested positive for COVID-19 after slipping through quarantine control at Incheon Airport.

Given the continuing arrival of people infected with COVID-19 from overseas, the central government’s disease authorities have decided to work with local governments to create a threefold monitoring system for people under self-quarantine and to extend a regional spot check initiative nationwide.

According to South Korea’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), 81 new cases of COVID-19 were reported on Saturday and 47 on Sunday, bringing the cumulative total to 10,284. Forty of Saturday’s cases were imported from overseas, with 24 identified in airport quarantine and the other 16 diagnosed in the community following arrival.

Koreans were shocked to learn that the teenage student, who entered the country on Mar. 25, had consumed a large dose of fever medication and passed through airport quarantine without telling officials about the fever. The day after arriving home in Busan, this student tested positive for COVID-19 at a screening clinic. As a result, the passengers aboard the student’s plane are being regarded as having come into close contact with them.

Individual movements before and after social distancing period

KCDC Deputy Director Kwon Jun-wook promised to “make an example” of the student to prevent similar incidents from occurring. “Taking fever medication and passing through quarantine is very wrong, and also illegal, as it could create grave health issues [for other people given the risk of transmission],” Kwon said. Those who submit false documentation when passing through quarantine could face up to a year in prison or a fine of as much as 10 million won (US$8,111).

In the future, South Korea’s Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters and officials in charge of keeping track of people under self-quarantine at various provincial and municipal levels will be operating a threefold monitoring system. There have been repeated examples of people breaking self-quarantine by going outside without their mobile device, which has the self-quarantine app installed, including a couple in their 50s in Gunpo, Gyeonggi Province, and three foreign students in Gunsan, North Jeolla Province.

As of Apr. 4, there were 37,248 people under self-quarantine, of whom 137 have left their quarantine locations without permission. At the moment, 59 such incidents, involving 63 individuals, are being investigated. The public health authorities plan to verify that people under self-quarantine are staying home around the clock and carry out two unannounced checks a week. The revised Infectious Disease Prevention Act states that, as of Sunday, violations of self-quarantine measures are punishable by up to a year in prison or up to 10 million won in fines.

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

Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]