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The arrivals section of Incheon International Airport on July 15. (Yonhap News)

The South Korean government is expanding its list of countries that are subject to stricter disease control measures, in an effort to reduce imported cases of COVID-19, increasing the number of countries on the list from four to six. All travelers arriving from those countries must present negative results from a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test administered within the past 48 hours. The original four countries on the list were Bangladesh, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. The disease control authorities declined to identify the additional two countries for reasons of diplomacy.

On July 15, South Korea’s Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCHQ) announced that the two countries would be added to the list as of July 20. Officials also announced a temporary suspension of visa-free entry for foreign sailors who fly into the country in order to board deep-sea fishing vessels, with the suspension taking effect on July 24.

South Korea’s tally of COVID-19 cases increased by 39 on Wednesday, with 28 of those cases imported from overseas. Of those cases, 14 are believed to have originated in Iraq, three in Kazakhstan, and three in Uzbekistan.

“A big group of South Koreans working in Iraq returned to the country, and we’re finding more cases among other passengers [who flew on the same plane],” said Kwon Jun-wook, deputy director of the Central Disease Control Headquarters.

Now that new cases of community infection in the Seoul region have remained below 20 for three days in a row, the CDSCHQ said it will be meeting with the heads of local governments this weekend to discuss whether to relax disease control measures.

By Hwang Ye-rang, staff reporter

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