[Report] "Battle Against Wuhan Pneumonia" Frontline... A Visit to Incheon Airport Quarantine Site

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Yeongjongdo (Incheon) = Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] At 11 a.m. on the 29th, as travelers arriving from Tianjin, China, began to arrive one after another at the quarantine checkpoint in the west corridor of Terminal 1 at Incheon International Airport, a momentary tension filled the air. The police officer in charge of guiding the quarantine checkpoint repeatedly called out "Yellow paper," referring to the health status questionnaire, and the travelers lined up in an orderly fashion.

The health status questionnaire is called the "Yellow paper" because of its yellow color, and for the past three weeks, it has been used to record symptoms such as diarrhea or fever and information about domestic stay locations. Since the day before, all travelers entering Korea from China have been required to submit the health status questionnaire at the quarantine checkpoint.

From one side of the quarantine checkpoint, a voice was heard shouting "From China, Here." This was to guide passengers arriving from China to the quarantine checkpoint. The quarantine officers asked travelers arriving at the checkpoint, "Are you feeling unwell?" and measured the temperature on their forehead and neck to check for symptoms of the novel coronavirus infection (Wuhan pneumonia).

About 5 seconds per person. Although a brief moment, there were as many as 99 passengers arriving on that flight. At the quarantine station that day, a Korean female student residing in Tianjin complained of muscle pain and underwent an in-depth epidemiological investigation by a military medical officer at the secondary quarantine checkpoint. Korean travelers who report symptoms of Wuhan pneumonia or fever at the quarantine checkpoint are sent to the secondary quarantine checkpoint according to procedure. If still classified as suspected cases, they undergo a third, more detailed examination at the screening clinic. Currently, three screening clinics operate within Incheon International Airport, with two more to be added. At the screening clinics, one military medical officer or public health doctor and one nursing officer work wearing the highest level of protective gear (Level D). The female student was diagnosed with the flu at the third screening clinic and was sent home.

However, if a passenger arriving from Hubei Province, China, shows suspected symptoms of the novel coronavirus such as fever, they are transferred to a nationally designated inpatient treatment bed rather than the screening clinic.

Also, even if the screening clinic rules out Wuhan pneumonia, if similar symptoms are present, the patient is moved to the isolation facility at the National Incheon Airport Quarantine Station within the airport. The isolation facility has a total of 50 rooms, including one remote medical consultation room and 49 patient rooms. Kim Han-sook, head of Quarantine Division 1 at the National Incheon Airport Quarantine Station, said, "Many people come to the screening clinic asking for tests because they are anxious," adding, "They seem to want to be reassured about their safety through consultation because they are reluctant to go home."

However, the quarantine station's isolation facility at Incheon Airport currently lacks sufficient staff, so no medical personnel are stationed there. The quarantine station explained that if manpower support is received from the Ministry of National Defense, medical staff can be stationed on-site.

Although strict quarantine is being conducted at Incheon Airport, the domestic gateway, there are blind spots. For travelers arriving directly from Wuhan on direct flights, gate quarantine was possible immediately upon disembarking the aircraft. However, since the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency designated all of China as a contaminated area subject to quarantine starting the day before, and due to a shortage of personnel to cover all gate quarantines, the initial quarantine is conducted at the quarantine checkpoint. This means passengers from all routes in China may be mixed together at once. Currently, 96 quarantine officers are working at eight quarantine checkpoints at Incheon International Airport.