"40% of New COVID-19 Cases Are Imported... Total 412 Cases Confirmed (Update)"

On the 27th, an asymptomatic foreigner arriving on a passenger flight from San Francisco, USA, boarded a bus heading to a temporary testing facility to undergo a COVID-19 diagnostic test at Terminal 2 of Incheon International Airport. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] Among the 105 newly confirmed domestic cases of novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) on the 29th, about 40% were identified as imported cases.

According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters for COVID-19, as of midnight on that day, 41 out of the 105 new confirmed cases were related to overseas inflow, accounting for 39% of the total. There were 23 arrivals from Europe, 14 from the Americas, and 4 from Asia excluding China. Among them, 21 were identified through airport quarantine, and 20 were confirmed after entering the local community. There were 40 Korean nationals and 1 foreigner.

As of that day, among the total 9,583 confirmed domestic cases, 412 were related to overseas inflow, accounting for 4.3% of the total. This includes 235 arrivals from Europe, 109 from the Americas, 49 from Asia excluding China, 17 from China, and 2 from Africa. Among these, 189 patients were identified through airport quarantine, and 223 were found in the local community. There were 377 Korean nationals and 35 foreigners.

Some argue that to reduce the fatigue of domestic medical staff and local governments, the entry of foreigners should be banned. Regarding this, Jung Eun-kyung, head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters, said, "Currently, about 90% of entrants are Korean nationals, and about 10% are foreigners. The option of banning the entry of foreigners and quarantine or management measures for foreigners are continuously being discussed within the quarantine authorities," adding, "How to manage and strengthen these measures will be thoroughly discussed within the government, and policies will be decided."