Strengthened Boarding Quarantine from the 6th... Testing and Isolation After Crew Change Disembarkation (Update)

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] Starting from the 1st, the government will expand the quarantine management areas for the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) to the entire world and strengthen boarding quarantine for 54 high-risk countries.

Kim Kang-lip, the 1st Chief Coordinator of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, stated at a regular briefing held at the Government Sejong Complex on the same day, "As the need to prevent domestic inflow has increased due to a cluster infection occurring on a Russian vessel that docked at Busan Gamcheon Port recently, we have established measures to strengthen port quarantine management."

The government plans to conduct diagnostic tests for disembarking individuals starting from the 6th, with domestic nationals undergoing self-quarantine and foreigners placed under facility quarantine.

Chief Coordinator Kim said, "We will conduct diagnostic tests on all crew members disembarking for crew changes and enforce a 14-day quarantine," adding, "Foreigners will be allowed to leave the facility quarantine only if their diagnostic test results are negative."

Temporary landing permission for crew members will be minimized except in cases such as emergencies, and even when permission is granted, all individuals will undergo pre-diagnostic testing. Additionally, monitoring will be conducted through a self-diagnosis app during the landing period.

The risk assessment indicators for boarding quarantine include ▲the risk level of the departure country ▲the intensity of contact between boarding personnel and the vessel's crew ▲the risk level of disembarking individuals entering the country.

Chief Coordinator Kim explained, "Currently, risk assessments are conducted biweekly and updated regularly considering the trends of patient occurrences in the respective countries," adding, "We comprehensively review how many patients have recently occurred in that country, the mortality rate, etc., and update every two weeks."

The government will expand the number of quarantine stations capable of conducting COVID-19 diagnostic tests at all ports from the existing three to eleven.

Chief Coordinator Kim stated, "We will continuously guide the non-face-to-face and non-contact principles between boarding workers and crew members and compliance with quarantine rules, and strengthen the reporting and management system regarding the occurrence of patients on vessels."

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