A traveler walks past the Corona 19 screening clinic in Terminal 1 of Incheon International Airport on the 30th as the government announced the mandatory Corona 19 test for attendees from China. yunhap news
On the 30th, the government announced a plan to strengthen the quarantine to minimize the domestic impact of the worsening Corona 19 situation in China. From the beginning of January next year, it will be mandatory for all participants from China to undergo COVID-19 tests, limit the issuance of short-term visas from China to Korea, and increase flights, and unify the arrival airport to the Incheon airport. This is a measure that takes into account the situation where the number of confirmed cases is rapidly increasing after China recently abolished its “zero corona” policy and eased quarantine measures. The authorities should not stop at this measure, but monitor the situation and devise further countermeasures.
The number of Chinese-confirmed cases in Korea has risen significantly from 19 last month to 278 as of this month. The proportion of cases confirmed by China among imported cases also increased from 1.1% last month to 29.4% this month. This is because the consequences of China’s sudden release of quarantine and overseas travel have been reflected. The whole world is stepping up measures against newcomers from China. On the 26th, when all the participants from Italy on two flights from China were tested, 38% and 52% of them respectively tested positive. In addition to Italy, countries around the world, including Japan, the United States and India, have already started imposing strict restrictions on travelers from China.
The problem is that the number of tourists from China will continue to increase in the future. With the decision to lift the quarantine requirements for foreign arrivals from January 8, the number of Chinese who want to travel abroad is rapidly increasing. Searches for airline tickets and overseas travel products by the Chinese have increased tenfold. In particular, bookings are concentrated during the Chinese New Year holidays (January 21-27), the most important Chinese holiday. During the Lunar New Year holiday, Chinese tourists are expected to flock to Korea. Since South Korea is directly affected by the spread of Corona 19 in China, thorough quarantine measures must be taken for Chinese travellers.
Even the internal situation is not in a safe phase. Even now there are 60,000 to 80,000 confirmed cases per day and the increase continues for the tenth week. The additional vaccination rate during the winter is still low. Over the past week, the number of suspected cases of flu has increased by 32%, exceeding the epidemic standard by 11 times. In this situation, if we fail to stop the reproliferation from China, the pace of daily recovery that has been built up over the past three years could drop sharply. Both quarantine authorities and citizens have to overcome this obstacle with special vigilance. The government’s response on this day was a step behind other countries. That’s why you need to respond quickly to changing circumstances. In addition to making every effort to expand entry controls and waiting facilities, it is also necessary to prepare for new mutations that could appear if large numbers of people become infected in a short period of time. It is also necessary to time the lifting of the requirement to wear masks indoors flexibly, not in a hurry. If necessary, the government must stop the spread by taking quick and preventive measures.
