South Korea to test all travellers from US amid COVID-19 scare

As South Korea continues to report coronavirus cases, the government reportedly announced that they will be testing all travellers from the United States. Currently, South Korea has more than 10,500 confirmed COVID-19 cases and the deadly virus has claimed more than 214 lives in the country. The new measure was announced in a bid to contain the further spread of the virus, although, with only 32 additional cases in the past 24-hours, the country continues to have a downward trend in new infections. 

Precautionary measures

South Korea’s caseload has been slowing recently, compared with early March, when it was recording hundreds of new cases every day. To further slow the drastic spread of the virus, the country has also announced more intense precautionary measures including restriction of foreign travels. Earlier the week, South Korean Prime Minister Chung Sye-Kyun said that the nation would suspend visa waivers for the citizens from at least 88 countries who have already imposed travel bans on South Korea including Australia, Canada, Russia and France.

READ: South Korea Continues Down Trend In New Cases

The country is also considering enforcing the use of electric bracelets to implement quarantine measures. Yoon Tae-ho of the South Korean Ministry of Health reportedly said that they have several options to monitor those in quarantine. In a reported newsletter, Yoon said that most people, who are in quarantine, follow the protocols, however, he informed, that there are some violations. 

READ: About 91 Recovered COVID-19 Patients Test Positive Again In South Korea

In the newsletter, Yoon wrote that the South Korean authorities will find the ‘most effective’ measure so that people follow the rules. He further stated that the government is considering making inquiries with bracelets, such as random phone checks and home visits without notice. The measure came as the government has earlier tried to use a smartphone app to monitor people, however, the authorities found that people left their phones at home to turned it off so that they couldn’t be tracked.

Meanwhile, the South Korean government have been widely praised for its effective response to the pandemic. The Korea Health Industry Development Institute also hosted an online presentation for nearly 400 medical practitioners from at least 13 countries including the United States, Mexico, Italy on April 9. This presentation reportedly included the outline of South Korea’s containment measures that enabled them to record 900 cases per day to 50 per day.

(Image source: AP)

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