No Confusion on the First Day of Expanded Special Entry Procedures

Expanded to All Entrants
Diagnosis App Installation → Smooth Fever Screening
Additional Measures Like Self-Quarantine Also Under Review

On the 19th, at Terminal 1 of Incheon International Airport, passengers arriving on a flight from London, UK, are exiting the gate as the government decided to apply 'special entry procedures' to all overseas arrivals regardless of their point of departure to prevent the influx of COVID-19. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy reporters Hyun-ui Cho and Je-hoon Yoo (Incheon International Airport)] "Please fill out both the white paper (special quarantine declaration form) and the yellow paper (health status questionnaire) completely, including the flight number."

At around 9 a.m. on the 19th, in front of Gate 257 at Terminal 2 of Incheon International Airport in Jung-gu, Incheon, Garuda Indonesia flight 870 from Denpasar (Bali) arrived. Passengers, visibly tired from the early morning flight, began to appear one by one. Most wore masks, and some were heavily equipped, resembling gas masks. Before immigration inspection, the atmosphere was busy as passengers filled out health status questionnaires and special quarantine declaration forms. Quarantine officials were also rushing around to guide passengers who were confused by the newly implemented special entry procedures.

The government applied the 'special entry procedures' to all arrivals starting at midnight that day. This was due to the global spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) and the increasing number of reverse-imported cases. Although some confusion was expected due to the expanded global scope, there was no significant disruption since the system had previously been applied to arrivals from China.

At the quarantine area on the west side of Terminal 2 at Incheon Airport, a space was set up for the special entry procedures. Passengers who completed the special quarantine declaration form and health status questionnaire underwent a fever check at the quarantine station. If no abnormalities were found, they were guided to install a 'self-diagnosis application' on their smartphones. The quarantine authorities then directly confirmed whether contact information was received and issued a 'quarantine confirmation certificate.' Next to the quarantine station, a screening clinic was also established. Inside the clinic, quarantine officers dressed in white protective suits were on standby. Passengers recording a body temperature of 37.5 degrees Celsius or higher during the fever check were either transferred to a nearby facility quarantine location or tested at the specimen testing room near the screening clinic, depending on their condition.

The government is also considering additional measures. All arrivals are required to install the mobile self-diagnosis app and report their health status, and the government is contemplating moving further to 'mandatory self-quarantine for all.' Jung Eun-kyeong, head of the Central Disease Control Headquarters, stated the previous day, "Recently, 5% of new patients are imported cases," and added, "We are also considering a plan to quarantine all arrivals for two weeks."

Strengthening quarantine for all departures is also under review. Currently, departure quarantine has been conducted only for passengers bound for the United States since the 11th. Yoon Tae-ho, head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters' quarantine team, said, "We are currently reviewing strengthening quarantine for all departing passengers, similar to the entry quarantine process." However, he added, "Since strengthening entry quarantine is quite burdensome, it is difficult to implement immediately, and we will decide on strengthening departure quarantine based on the overall domestic and international epidemic situation in the future."

However, the government drew a line against a complete ban on foreign arrivals. Kwon Jun-wook, deputy head of the Central Disease Control Headquarters, said, "A complete entry ban might seem like a very effective and simple method at first glance, but many of the imported cases are nationals, and there is also international exchange involving uninfected people," adding, "At present, we believe that not imposing a complete entry ban is the reasonable and correct path."

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