OVER 20% OF VISITORS FROM CHINA INFECTED

[Anchor Lead]

More than a thousand people entered South Korea from China via Incheon International Airport yesterday. In terms of short-term visitors from China, who must immediately receive mandatory PCR tests upon arrival, one out of 5 entrants tested positive to COVID-19 and were put into isolation. However a system operated by the KDCA that is used to identify incoming arrivals from China went out of order since Monday, causing disruptions in managing entrants.

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Around one thousand travelers from China arrived at Incheon International Airport on Tuesday. Of them, 309 short-term visitors received PCR tests at the airport, 61 of whom tested positive, meaning one in five were infected. Positive cases may well increase if South Korean nationals and long-term visitors not included in the latest tally were counted as well as travelers arriving through seaports.

[Soundbite] Prof. Kim Woo-joo(Korea Univ. Guro Hospital) : "The positivity rate of long-term foreign visitors is also likely to reach 20%. The problem is that they outnumber short-term visitors."

However a system operated by the KDCA that is used to identify incoming arrivals from China went out of order since Monday, the first day of tighter entry rules, and remained that way for more than a day.

[Soundbite] Kim Gyeong-hee(Public health center, Nowon-gu Dist., Seoul) : "The system shows an infected patient but without the information about whether he or she is from China."

Securing enough space to isolate infected patients is another issue. At present, such facilities designated for short-term foreign travelers can only accommodate 160 people. It is insufficient to handle the confirmed daily caseload of over 60 as well as the overall isolation period. Authorities explain there are additional preliminary facilities and so the capacity is fine for now as travelers can also isolate at the home of their South Korean caretakers. Starting Thursday, arrivals from China must also present a negative test result before boarding. The rule will apply to arrivals from Hong Kong and Macao from Saturday. Travelers must get a PCR or a professional rapid antigen test before departure and enter their results into a pre-entry quarantine information system. The detection rate in South Korea of the BF.7 variant, which is currently spreading in China, recorded 3.7% as of the third week of December.