As the number of overseas travelers surges, the quarantine system to block the inflow of overseas infectious diseases into Korea will shift from arrival hall–centered to preemptive prevention. Going forward, those entering and leaving the country who visit areas at risk of infectious disease will receive information on disease risks and quarantine procedures by text message and KakaoTalk before and after departure.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said on the 26th it will preannounce legislation on a revision to the Enforcement Rule of the Quarantine Act reflecting these details. The public notice period runs from today to Oct. 6. The revision aims to set detailed standards for providing information on quarantinable infectious diseases and for random sampling of aircraft and ships, as delegated by the Quarantine Act amended in May.
Last year, there were 49.29 million arrivals and 49.03 million departures, bringing the annual number of border crossers to nearly 100 million. As cross-border movement increases and the likelihood of overseas infectious diseases entering Korea grows, the government will strengthen the quarantine system to inform people of risks in advance and help them prepare.
Under the revision, people who depart for, stay in, or transit through key quarantine control areas or quarantine control areas and then enter Korea will be provided country- and region-specific infectious disease risk information, prevention guidelines, and the quarantine procedures required upon entry. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency plans to work with telecommunications carriers and other telecommunications service providers to use text messages and mobile messengers.
The ship quarantine method will also change according to risk level. Currently, ships that depart from key quarantine control areas and are still within the maximum incubation period for an infectious disease are uniformly classified as high risk and subjected to onboard quarantine. Going forward, ships that anchor without berthing at a pier will be deemed to pose a low risk of domestic transmission and will shift to document-based quarantine. To close potential blind spots, authorities will also randomly select ships for onboard quarantine.
Random sampling inspections will also be introduced for aircraft and ships. For aircraft or ships selected as samples by the head of a quarantine station, quarantine officers will board in person to conduct quarantine inspections.
Quarantine-related forms will also be consolidated into one. The three existing forms—the Health Status Questionnaire, the Declaration for Staying in or Transiting Through Quarantine Control Areas, and the Personal Quarantine Declaration—will be unified into a single Health Status Declaration to simplify reporting procedures for travelers.