[Report] Special Entry Amid War-Like Chaos, Mixed with Chinese and Europeans... "Standing in Line Risks Infection"

Special Entry Procedures Experienced
Competition to Fill Out Declaration Forms... Like a War Zone
Simultaneous Arrivals Crowd Together... "Standing in Line Risks Infection"
Expanded Special Entry Implemented, Loopholes Everywhere
Limited Space for Quarantine Declaration Forms Causes Difficulty
Travelers Sent to Special Screening Without Asking Departure Country
Many Travelers Without Masks
Relative Shortage of Inspectors Compared to Arrivals

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporters Kim Hyung-min and Kim Heung-soon] Arriving passengers trying to fill out new declaration forms, which did not exist before, jostled each other in the cramped space. The 'declaration form writing competition' among global citizens eager to leave the airport quickly?wondering what to write and where to find pens?resembled a scene from a battlefield.

A reporter who arrived in Berlin, Germany on the 14th received a yellow quarantine declaration form on the plane. It was the familiar form usually used. However, upon arrival at Incheon International Airport, quarantine officers blocking the passage informed arriving passengers that they also had to fill out a white declaration form and directed them to where the documents were available. The reporter, arriving from Germany, had to complete the 'white quarantine declaration form' because Germany was designated as a 'special entry procedure' country effective from midnight on the 15th. Although the reporter arrived on the 14th, the special entry procedures were already being implemented a day early at Incheon International Airport. The government applied special entry procedures from midnight on the 15th to five European countries (France, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands). Previously, only China, Hong Kong, Macau, Japan, Italy, and Iran were subject to these procedures. Subsequently, from midnight on the 16th, the government expanded the special entry procedures to cover the entire European region. This is interpreted as a preliminary step toward expanding the target to the entire world.

However, the expanded implementation of special entry procedures exposed vulnerabilities in various places. This was evident from the moment passengers began filling out the white quarantine declaration forms under the quarantine officers' instructions. On the left side of the passage leading to the arrival gate, tables were set up with declaration forms and pens. However, the space was too narrow, failing to consider the nature of the arrival hall where many people arrive simultaneously. Besides the reporter arriving from Germany, passengers from Qingdao, China; Bangkok, Thailand; and Vladivostok, Russia crowded the area, scrambling to secure pens. It even raised concerns that viruses from different countries might mingle and infect each other during the quarantine declaration process.

Those who completed their forms lined up in two rows to wait for the temperature check procedure. The one-on-one fever screening was a measure applied only to passengers from countries subject to the special entry procedures. After confirming whether passengers had a fever, they were directed to a special immigration inspection counter instead of the regular immigration inspection counter. Quarantine officials sent all arriving passengers to the special immigration inspection counter without asking where they came from. There was a sign on the passage stating, "Passengers arriving from China or Japan, please proceed here," but it was meaningless. When the reporter questioned this, a volunteer said, "The sign has not been updated yet."

Passengers lining up at the special immigration inspection counter at Incheon Airport on the 14th to go through immigration [Photo by Kim Hyung-min]

Instructions for Installing the Self-Diagnosis Application
Photo by Kim Hyung-min

The special immigration inspection counters were also crowded with people arriving at the same time. Apparently lacking prior information about the Korean situation, a German individual was waiting for inspection without wearing a mask. Several of our tourists arriving from China were also seen without masks. A 32-year-old office worker, A, who returned from a business trip to Germany, complained, "Standing in line like this, I might get infected with COVID-19." B, 28, who returned from Bangkok, Thailand, expressed dissatisfaction, saying, "The officials did not properly explain how the inspection would proceed and kept telling us to go here and there, which increased my anxiety." Around the inspection counters, there were notices explaining how to install a self-diagnosis application. Passengers had to install the app and undergo inspection while waiting in line. This app, which all passengers from countries subject to the special entry procedures must install, will transmit the reporter's health status and symptoms to the quarantine authorities for the next 14 days.

After waiting in line for about 40 minutes, it was the reporter's turn. About ten inspectors, who appeared to be military personnel, sat at the inspection counters conducting one-on-one interviews with arriving passengers. Compared to the number of passengers, the number of inspectors seemed relatively small. One inspector lamented, "When many passengers arrive at the same time like today, there's nothing we can do. We have to do our best."

Meanwhile, cases of Korean nationals returning from Europe testing positive after arrival continue daily. A man in his 20s who studied in Italy and another man in his 20s who arrived from Italy to Busan earlier this month were recently confirmed positive. As of 2 p.m. on the 15th, among 368 passengers subject to special entry procedures from Europe, 47 were identified as suspected COVID-19 cases exhibiting symptoms such as cough and fever. Among symptomatic arrivals from Germany, there were 32 individuals (29 Koreans, 1 British, 1 Turkish, 1 Polish), and among symptomatic arrivals from the United Kingdom, there were 15 individuals (11 Koreans, 1 French, 1 Spanish, 1 British, 1 Italian). Kwon Jun-wook, Deputy Director of the Central Disease Control Headquarters, emphasized, "To diversify the regions subject to special entry procedures, it is necessary to expand and supplement manpower, facilities, and equipment at frontline quarantine stations." Park Neung-hoo, First Deputy Director of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (Minister of Health and Welfare), also stated, "We will prepare to implement special entry procedures for all arriving passengers as soon as possible."

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