TOUGHENED SCREENINGS ON VISITORS FROM EUROPE

[Anchor Lead]

The novel coronavirus is spreading rapidly across Europe. In Korea, several people in their 20s who recently returned from Europe have been confirmed to have COVID-19. The government has decided to expand the list of European countries subject to enhanced screenings at airports to five, including the U.K. and France.

[Pkg]

​March 4th. The Louvre, Paris, France. People wearing facemasks can be seen in many parts of the streets. With COVID-19 spreading rapidly across Europe, a Korean man in his 20s who recently returned from Paris was diagnosed with the virus on March 11.

[Soundbite] LEE JONG-WON(PUBLIC HEALTH CENTER IN UIJEONGBU) : "He developed a mild fever on March 6. His trip began on February 27. That means he probably contracted the virus in the U.K. or France."

At least seven confirmed cases in the nation involve people who visited Europe recently. One of them stayed in Europe for one month, another visited four European countries including Spain. All of them are in their 20s and 30s, an age group considered less vulnerable to the disease. Following the declaration of COVID-19 as a world pandemic and a series of infections among travelers from Europe, the government added five more countries to the list of regions subject to enhanced airport screenings. Starting March 15th, the list will include not only Italy, Iran, China and Japan but also France, Germany, Spain, the U.K. and the Netherlands. Most European countries with direct flights to Korea as well as major transit regions for travelers from Europe are now on the list.

[Soundbite] YOON TAE-HO(CENTRAL DISASTER MANAGEMENT HEADQUARTERS) : "The enhanced screening procedures will also apply to travelers with transit stops in select cities including Dubai and Moscow in the last 14 days."

This means almost the entire European region is now subject to intensive quarantine. It applies to both Korean nationals and foreigners arriving from the restricted areas.