South Korea will further tighten entry procedures by requiring travelers from every country to go through a health check and submit a health questionnaire upon arrival.
At a press briefing on Tuesday, Vice Health Minister Kim Gang-lip said that the new rules going into effect at 12:00 a.m. Thursday were decided upon in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic and a rising number of infections involving people who have traveled overseas.
As of Sunday, there have been 44 coronavirus patients who had recently been overseas, of which 16 had traveled to Europe and 14 to China. The rest 14 arrived from other Asian countries.
Aside from the health check and questionnaire, travelers are required to notify authorities of their contact information in South Korea and download a mobile application to report their health conditions while in the country.
The vice minister said lists of entries will be sent to local governments, where officials will check up on travelers' possible symptoms for two weeks.