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| Travelers from France go through special screening at Incheon International Airport, Monday. / Yonhap |
By Kim Se-jeong
Korea is expanding its special screening at airports and ports to all overseas travelers starting from Thursday, in an effort to contain COVID-19 which is spreading in Korea and around the world, the government said Tuesday.
Currently, travelers, both Koreans and non-Koreans, arriving from China, Japan and all European countries are subject to special screening at entry points.
"Given that the new coronavirus pandemic is spreading all over the world and that more people coming from abroad show symptoms or are infected, Korea will expand a special screening procedure to all entrants," Kim Gang-lip, the vice health minister, said during a press conference held in Sejong, Tuesday.
Kim said six recent coronavirus cases involved people with records of traveling abroad. "We feel an increasing need for stricter border control."
According to the government, as of March 15, a total of 44 coronavirus patients had a record of traveling outside ― 16 visiting Europe, 14 China and 14 other Asian countries.
"A country like Peru completely sealed the country up which we consider too drastic for Korea. The best option for us would be screening all who arrive in Korea," Kim said.
The special screening consists of checking people's body temperature and filling out a personal health survey before leaving the airport or port. Also, people must share their local contact information ― phone number and address ― and download a smartphone application through which users have to report their daily health condition to the quarantine authorities.
The Korean Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said Tuesday Korea reported 84 new cases of COVID-19 infection on Monday, putting the total number of cases at 8,320 with 81 fatalities.
Among the new cases was a 62-year-old woman from Gunsan, North Jeolla Province, who visited her son in the U.S. last month. She returned home on March 2 and symptoms didn't appear until Sunday, the KCDC said.
In Gyeonggi Province on Tuesday, Governor Lee Jae-myeong banned all in-person church gatherings, following an outbreak out in a non-denominational church located in Seongnam in the same province involving 50 people.
"The local government allowed the church gatherings because churches promised to implement personal hygiene rules strictly on their members. But, it failed to do so, and they are also subject to the ban," the governor wrote on his Facebook account.
The River of Grace Church reported 50 confirmed cases, up three from the previous count, including the church's pastor and his wife. The figure includes members' acquaintances and families.
The church members testified to having salt water sprayed on them when they arrived at the church for the service on March 1 and 8 as a preventive measure, indicating a challenge in disseminating accurate information on the virus to the general public.
Small cluster infections have led the coronavirus outbreak in Korea. The authorities said more than 80 percent of new coronavirus infections reported in Korea occurred through small group infections.
Earlier last week, Seoul saw a case where a large number of an insurance company's call center employees were infected.
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