No COVID-19 Cases in China for 22 Days... 5 Passengers from China to Korea Test Positive

"Concerns Raised Over Quarantine Measures for Passengers"

Passengers installing self-diagnosis apps at the airport. The photo is unrelated to specific expressions in the article. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Bong-ju] Despite China's official announcement that there have been '0' confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) on the mainland for 22 consecutive days, controversy has arisen as 5 passengers traveling from China to Korea during this period tested positive.

According to diplomatic sources on the 7th, a total of 5 passengers who departed from China and arrived in Korea between the 16th of last month and the 6th of this month were confirmed to have COVID-19.

During this period, Chinese health authorities stated that there were no confirmed cases on the mainland except for those imported from overseas.

Some have raised doubts about the reliability of the Chinese authorities' statistics claiming that the COVID-19 situation in China is stable, as the number of confirmed cases reported by Korea and China differ.

There are also concerns that there may be issues with quarantine measures for passengers using flights from China to Korea.

Currently, passengers boarding flights from China to Korea must submit a negative nucleic acid test certificate when applying for a visa, and upon arrival in Korea, they must undergo another COVID-19 test.

A diplomatic source said, "The COVID-19 stability in China continues. This case is presumed to be an asymptomatic infected person who arrived in Korea and was confirmed positive," adding, "It is practically difficult to prevent all cases unless testing is conducted on the entire population in China."

Another source said, "Quarantine measures for passengers on flights from China to Korea are being thoroughly implemented. Since tests are conducted twice?before departure from China and immediately after arrival in Korea?it is possible to sufficiently monitor the inflow of confirmed cases."

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