"Active Monitoring Strengthened for 'Self-Quarantine Exempt' Arrivals" (Update)

On the 27th, when enhanced quarantine measures for arrivals from the United States began, passengers arriving on a flight from San Francisco, USA, were exiting the gate at Terminal 2 of Incheon International Airport. People with suspected COVID-19 symptoms must undergo diagnostic testing, and asymptomatic individuals are required to self-quarantine for two weeks. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] Starting from the 1st of next month, all domestic and foreign entrants will be required to undergo self-quarantine, except for short-term visitors for national or public interest purposes who will be exempted.

Park Neung-hoo, the first head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, stated at a briefing held at the Government Seoul Office on the 29th, "Except for exceptional cases such as visits for national and public interest, self-quarantine will be mandatory."

If the visa type is A1 (diplomatic), A2 (official), or A3 (agreement), or if the Korean embassy issues a prior exemption certificate for self-quarantine for purposes recognized as valid, such as ▲important business purposes (contracts, investments, etc.) ▲academic purposes (international conferences) ▲other public or humanitarian purposes, the individual is exempt from self-quarantine.

Park said, "Since the self-quarantine period applies even to short-term visitors, it is expected that entry will be limited to only those cases that are absolutely necessary," and added, "Even in cases where individuals are exceptionally exempted from self-quarantine, enhanced active monitoring will be conducted."

The government plans to have short-term visitors exempted from self-quarantine enter symptom information into a mobile self-diagnosis app and confirm their status daily via phone calls.

Park stated, "These measures will apply to entrants from 0:00 on April 1," and added, "The lifting date will be decided later based on the global epidemic situation and the risk levels of countries and regions."

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