"All Arrivals Must Be Quarantined" vs "Current Measures Are Sufficient"

Virtually Global Border Closures
Domestic Opinions Divided Over Entry Restrictions and Related Issues

Passengers on a flight from Hong Kong are lined up at Incheon International Airport to install the 'Self-Diagnosis App.' / Yeongjongdo = Photo by Airport Photographers Group

[Asia Economy Reporters Choi Dae-yeol, Kim Heung-soon, Jung Dong-hoon] As the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) rapidly spreads through China and South Korea to Europe, the United States, and the Middle East, voices are growing louder calling for measures to block or quarantine incoming travelers from these regions. This is because, having barely contained the 'major outbreak' of cluster infections domestically, it is necessary to prevent the source of infection from entering from overseas epidemic countries.

The government and quarantine authorities reiterated their position on the 19th that by expanding and applying special entry procedures to all domestic and foreign nationals entering the country from 0:00, they can identify risk factors and enable systematic management and response. Nevertheless, with EU member countries deciding to completely suspend foreign entries for a month and more than 150 countries restricting arrivals from Korea, there are calls to raise our response level as well.

◆ Europe locks down: "We need it too"= On the 18th (Korean time), the leaders of the 27 EU member states agreed in a video conference on COVID-19 countermeasures to impose a travel ban blocking foreign nationals from entering the EU for the next 30 days. This measure was taken as Italy's cumulative confirmed cases exceeded 30,000 (31,506 cases), and Spain (11,409 cases) and Germany (8,604 cases) approached around 10,000 cases.

Domestic clinical experts also argued that corresponding measures are necessary. Jeon Byung-yul, Dean of the Graduate School of Health Industry at CHA University, said, "The EU even broke the 'Schengen Agreement' that guaranteed free movement among member countries and imposed entry bans, but we are in a situation of 'leaving the door open and inviting them in.' No matter how thoroughly we conduct quarantine domestically, it is useless if we cannot stop the dam from bursting and flooding in from outside." He added, "Special entry procedures are meaningless; it is necessary to restrict foreign entries or at least impose a two-week self-quarantine on overseas entrants, like Japan and China."

Professor Kim Woo-joo of the Department of Infectious Diseases at Korea University Guro Hospital also stated, "Among European entrants, about four people per day are confirmed positive, and as more Koreans return due to the unstable local situation, more patients may occur." He insisted, "We should consider boldly implementing a two-week self-quarantine for overseas entrants." According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters, since the first confirmed case in Korea?a Chinese woman who entered from Wuhan, China on January 20?55 overseas entrants were confirmed positive as of 0:00 on the 17th. Among them, 47 were Korean nationals and 8 were foreigners (6 Chinese, 1 French, 1 Polish). Additionally, 5 patients (nationality unknown) were added as of 0:00 on the 18th.

◆ "Because many of our nationals enter..."= According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as of 10:00 PM on the 17th, a total of 155 countries have explicitly banned entry or allow entry only after a certain period for travelers from Korea. On the other hand, Korea has only imposed restrictions on entrants from Hubei Province, China, where Wuhan?the origin of COVID-19?is located, and has managed other entrants through special entry procedures. This is because a high proportion of overseas entrants are Korean nationals, making it difficult to block them.

The quarantine authorities explained that the daily number of entrants into the country was 15,457 on the 15th and 13,350 on the 16th, with more than half being Korean nationals. Professor Lee Jae-gap of the Department of Infectious Diseases at Hallym University Kangnam Sacred Heart Hospital said, "We are barely setting up residential treatment centers for patients occurring domestically, so if we quarantine all overseas entrants, it is questionable how to expand such facilities." He added, "It is desirable to maintain a system that inspects and manages entrants in our own way."

Deputy Director Kwon Jun-wook of the Central Disease Control Headquarters also expressed a negative stance on quarantine measures at a briefing the previous day, saying, "One might judge that blocking entry is 'not effective' or 'easy to implement,' but we must consider that many of our nationals enter the country," indicating opposition to quarantine measures.

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