Total of 51 Domestic COVID Variant Cases... Government "Expands Quarantine for Incoming Travelers"

Weekly Review of Countries Under Intensive Management
Inflow from 18 Countries Including the United Kingdom

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki Ha-young] As COVID-19 variant viruses become the dominant strains overseas, the government has decided to strengthen quarantine measures for incoming travelers.

Son Young-rae, head of the Social Strategy Division at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH), stated at a regular briefing on the 7th, "Variant viruses are spreading increasingly rapidly overseas and becoming dominant strains," adding, "We are continuously obtaining information through the World Health Organization (WHO) and others, evaluating the situation weekly, and reviewing countries for focused management."

He explained, "For confirmed cases entering from the United Kingdom, South Africa (Namafrica), and Brazil, COVID-19 diagnostic tests are conducted for all accompanying persons as well, and if confirmed positive, tests are also conducted to determine if the infection is caused by a variant virus. Depending on the extent of variant strain spread, these strengthened quarantine measures will be expanded to incoming travelers from countries other than these."

The government previously lowered the fever screening threshold for arrivals from the UK, South Africa, and Brazil from 37.5°C to 37.3°C, and requires both domestic and foreign nationals to submit a negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test certificate upon entry. Additionally, quarantine exemption certificates are restricted for 27 countries where variant viruses have emerged.

So far, a total of 51 variant virus infections have been confirmed domestically. The countries presumed to have introduced variant viruses include the UK, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Brazil, Tanzania, South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria, Norway, Malawi, Maldives, Iraq, China, Zimbabwe, Canada, Poland, France, Hungary, and Syria, totaling 18 countries.

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