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| Inbound travelers from China to Korea head to the COVID-19 testing center inside Terminal 1 of Incheon International Airport, Thursday. Yonhap |
COVID-positive Chinese traveler who fled quarantine facility caught in Seoul
By Ko Dong-hwan
Korea on Thursday launched a ramped-up measure against travelers inbound from China to quell the local spread of COVID-19 as the disease that is spreading uncontrollably in China may wreak further havoc here.
Anyone flying to Korea from China regardless of nationality must take a PCR test before boarding their plane and present a negative test result upon arriving at their destination. The test should be taken within 48 hours of departure. A negative test result from a rapid antigen test for professional use taken within 24 hours of departure is also acceptable.
There are exceptions. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), those visiting for "humanitarian" purposes, like attending funeral services, those traveling for government-related affairs, children under age six, as well as those who contracted the disease between 10 and 40 days before their flight are excluded.
The measures came after the authority last Monday started enforcing the requirement for travelers inbound from China to take a PCR test when arriving at Korean airports. The measure still remains effective, allowing the Korean authorities to monitor those arriving from China via double screenings. The KDCA said Thursday they delayed introducing the latest measure because they needed more time to check how the Chinese government was inspecting outbound travelers. The measure from Monday also included limiting the issuing of a short-term travel visas to those arriving from China.
Korean health inspectors screened out a sizable portion of infected patients among travelers inbound from China. At Incheon International Airport, 917 people took PCR tests from Monday to Wednesday at midnight and 239 tested positive to COVID-19 ― over 26 percent. On Wednesday alone, the KDCA tested 327 people out of 1,924 inbound travelers from China and 103 tested positive ― 31.5 percent.
It remains to be seen whether the new measure kicking off Thursday will affect the contagion rate, but it is hoped that it will lower it.
The KDCA said they will also subject those arriving at Korean airports from Macau and Hong Kong to the same regulation starting Saturday.
The Korean health authorities have been trying to keep the number of potential COVID patients entering from China under control but various loopholes have resulted in multiple errors.
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| A Chinese national infected with COVID-19 is taken from Seoul back to a hotel in Incheon, Thursday, where he had been ordered by the Korean health authority to quarantine himself two days ago. He had fled before being checked into the quarantine facility. Yonhap |
On Tuesday, a Chinese man in his 40s who tested positive upon arriving in Korea and was ordered to quarantine himself at a hotel in Yeongjong Island in Incheon fled when he was about to check in at the hotel. There were Korean officials monitoring the scene but they couldn't stop the man.
He was caught at a Seoul hotel on Thursday and taken back to the Incheon hotel wearing a protective suit and a pair of protective gloves. When asked by reporters why he ran away and why he came to Korea, he remained silent. It was found he spent time outside the hotel in Seoul where he stayed.
Lim Sook-young, a senior official from the KDCA, reminded people that there are penalties for violating the country's disease control regulations and urged travelers coming in from China to cooperate with local authorities.
On Monday, an error at the KDCA's COVID-19 information management system left the agency unable to share the list of travelers arriving in Korea from China with local municipalities. Korean nationals or travelers from China staying in Korea long-term are required to take a PCR test at a health clinic close to where they are staying within 24 hours of arrival. The local authorities need the list to follow up on who did or didn't take the test.
The KDCA on Thursday said that over 64,000 people tested positive for COVID-19 from the previous day, down 14,469 from the previous day's tally. Over 190 came from outside the country, up 22 from the previous day and the highest since the country lifted quarantine measures for inbound and outbound travelers last October.
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