Korean Arriving in Japan Quarantined at Hotel 340km from Airport... "I Never Want to Experience It Again"

The departure hall at Incheon International Airport appeared quiet on the morning of the 2nd. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Sumi] It has been confirmed that a Korean who entered Japan was quarantined at a hotel hundreds of kilometers away from the arrival airport under the authorities' instructions.

According to Yonhap News on the 4th, Mr. A, a Korean who entered Japan through Narita International Airport the previous day, was designated to quarantine at a hotel near Chubu Airport. Chubu Airport is located about 340 km in a straight line from Narita Airport.

Accordingly, after completing COVID-19 testing and entry procedures at Narita Airport, Mr. A took a domestic flight arranged by the authorities to Chubu Airport. It took about 10 hours after departing from Incheon Airport for Mr. A to finally arrive at the accommodation.

Mr. A told Yonhap News, "The day before departure, the airline informed me that I had to quarantine for six days at a designated facility and that if there was no accommodation near Narita Airport, I might be sent to another airport, but the long wait and transfer were quite exhausting," adding, "I do not want to go through that again."

He also said, "I don't know why they sent me so far away," and "I have doubts about whether it was really because there were no rooms available at the hotel."

Meanwhile, as Japan recently strengthened regulations to prevent the influx of the new COVID-19 variant Omicron, concerns have been raised about the shortage of quarantine accommodations.

According to Kyodo News, Shigeyuki Goto, Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare, stated at a press conference on the 3rd that due to concerns about the shortage of quarantine facilities to prevent the spread of the Omicron variant, some entrants from designated countries who are required to quarantine for three days at a facility may be allowed to wait at home if they have completed vaccination.

He added that the Japanese government has secured 7,350 quarantine rooms, with more than 30% in use as of the 2nd, and plans to add 2,000 rooms with the cooperation of local governments.

Currently, the Japanese government assesses the risk of Omicron variant influx and sets different facility quarantine periods by country and region. Entrants from 12 countries, including Korea, must spend the first six days of the total 14-day quarantine at quarantine-designated accommodations.