University Areas Before Semester Start Face Urgent Management of Chinese International Students... Graduation Ceremonies and Freshman OTs Also Reduced

Ministry of Education to Conduct Fever Checks for All Students and Staff Returning from China... Self-Quarantine Required if Passing Through Hubei Province
Academic Schedule Adjustments Considered for Students from Wuhan Who Have Not Entered the Country

On the morning of the 28th, at the arrival hall of Terminal 1, Incheon International Airport, people arriving from Shanghai, China, were guided to submit health status questionnaires at the quarantine station. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency designated the entire region of China as a quarantine target contaminated area in relation to the novel coronavirus and made quarantine and submission of health status questionnaires mandatory for all arrivals. / Yeongjongdo - Photo by Kim Hyunmin kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] The government has established quarantine measures to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (Wuhan pneumonia), including checking the health status of Chinese international students enrolled in domestic universities and imposing self-quarantine measures for those entering from specific regions.

On the afternoon of the 29th, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Yoo Eun-hye held an emergency countermeasure meeting with university officials at the Government Sejong Complex to discuss measures related to the novel coronavirus and international students. Attendees included 10 student affairs directors and 16 international exchange directors from universities such as Korea University, Sungkyunkwan University, and Hanyang University, infection disease expert Kim Yeon-sook, Director of Infection Control at Chungnam National University Hospital, and Lee Kwang-ho, Education Secretary at the Blue House.

The Ministry of Education first decided to conduct a thorough survey at universities, similar to kindergartens and elementary, middle, and high schools, to identify students or staff who recently visited Hubei Province, China. University students or staff who entered the country from Hubei Province after the 13th must self-quarantine for 14 days even if they show no symptoms.

The Ministry also instructed each university to conduct fever checks on all students and staff who recently traveled to China. All domestic and international university students and staff who transited through China must regularly have their health status monitored and body temperature checked by a designated manager at each university for the time being. Quarantine measures will also be strengthened around university international centers and dormitories.

For Chinese international students from Wuhan who are unable to enter Korea due to Chinese government policies, each university will seek solutions such as adjusting class days as much as possible or providing online lectures.

A Ministry of Education official emphasized, "Since academic schedules are important for bachelor's degree programs and intensive graduate courses, appropriate measures for schedule adjustments must be prepared," adding, "Close cooperation between universities and related agencies is especially necessary during the large influx of Chinese international students after the Lunar New Year."

The Ministry will also seek solutions for cases where Chinese master's and doctoral students supported by the Brain Korea (BK) 21 project, who are from Wuhan, are unable to enter the country or cannot attend work due to self-quarantine.

Universities have also decided to reduce, postpone, or cancel mass participation events such as graduation ceremonies, new student orientations, and training sessions.

According to the Education Statistics Service, as of April last year, there were a total of 69,287 Chinese international students in domestic universities, accounting for 43.3% of the total 160,165 foreign international students in domestic universities.

Deputy Prime Minister Yoo Eun-hye urged, "Only through close cooperation between the Ministry of Education and universities can we protect the safety of our citizens and students," and requested, "Each university should make responsible efforts to prevent infectious diseases to the greatest extent possible."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.