Increasing Return of International Students... Concerns Over COVID-19 'Reverse Inflow'

As COVID-19 Spreads, International Students Return Home... Concerns Over Virus Re-importation
Over 210,000 International Students Abroad... More Than 100,000 in the US and Europe
Government Applies Special Entry Procedures to All Arrivals... "Discussing Management Methods for Asymptomatic Cases"

As the novel coronavirus infection spreads, passengers arriving on a flight from Chicago, USA, are entering through Terminal 2 of Incheon International Airport on the afternoon of the 16th. The photo is unrelated to specific expressions in the article. Photo by Yonhap News.

[Asia Economy reporters Seunggon Han and intern reporter Juhyung Lim] As the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) spreads worldwide, the number of international students returning from abroad is increasing.

With the rapid rise in confirmed COVID-19 cases in Europe, the United States, and other overseas locations, some international students are feeling anxious and preparing to return to Korea.

However, as confirmed COVID-19 cases continue to occur among these students, concerns are growing that the virus may be reintroduced into Korea by incoming travelers from abroad.

Health authorities plan to apply special entry procedures to all arrivals entering Korea to screen and isolate confirmed cases at the point of entry before they can spread the infection to the community.

COVID-19 is rapidly spreading in most European countries. / Photo by Yonhap News

Recently, posts expressing a desire to return home, such as "Are there any flights left to Korea?" and "I am attending university in Europe, but my parents keep telling me to come back," have been increasing in overseas international student communities.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Education, there were a total of 213,000 Korean international students enrolled in overseas higher education institutions last year. Among them, 36,539 students are staying in Europe, where COVID-19 is rapidly spreading, and 71,108 students are in North America, including the United States and Canada.

The problem is that as the number of returning international students increases, concerns about the reintroduction of COVID-19 from abroad are also growing.

On the 17th, Yeongdeungpo-gu in Seoul announced that a Central University exchange student, Mr. A, who returned to Korea from France on the 12th, tested positive for COVID-19. This is the first case of an exchange student staying abroad being confirmed positive domestically.

On the 18th, a student in their 20s who completed an exchange program at a university in the Netherlands and returned to Korea was also confirmed positive, marking an increase in cases of COVID-19 being reintroduced from overseas.

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun is visiting the site of strengthened special entry procedures at Incheon International Airport Terminal 1, where 'special entry procedures' are being applied to all arrivals starting from the 19th to prevent the influx of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). He is inspecting the special entry inspection area. / Photo by Yonhap News

In response, health authorities have been applying special entry procedures to all overseas arrivals since the 19th.

Accordingly, all arrivals entering Korea must undergo one-on-one temperature checks at the point of entry, complete a health status questionnaire regarding any suspicious symptoms, and install a 'self-diagnosis application (app)' on their mobile devices to report their health status daily and submit self-diagnosis results for 14 days.

Yoon Tae-ho, head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters' quarantine team, said at a regular briefing held that morning, "We are discussing additional measures, including mandatory self-quarantine for arrivals. Since various administrative supports are required for self-quarantine measures, we are reviewing this from multiple angles."

He added, "Beyond simply whether self-quarantine is required, we are also discussing how to more effectively manage people who pass quarantine asymptomatically."

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