South Korea on Monday expanded special quarantine measures on all travelers arriving from Europe in a bid to curb the import of coronavirus cases as the health authorities continue to struggle with community spread inside the country, media reported
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th March, 2020) South Korea on Monday expanded special quarantine measures on all travelers arriving from Europe in a bid to curb the import of coronavirus cases as the health authorities continue to struggle with community spread inside the country, media reported.
The Health Ministry extended procedures on all European countries including Russia from the initial six - worst hit - countries of Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Britain and the Netherlands, Yonhap state news agency reported from a regular briefing on coronavirus in Seoul.
"The government took the measures as COVID-19 cases surged in Europe and patients were found during the quarantine process," Vice Health Minister Kim Gang-lip said at the briefing as quoted by Yonhap.
The move comes after the World Health Organization last week declared that Europe has become the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, with over 40,000 cases confirmed across 46 nations in the continent.
"The government will first review whether to implement the measures to arrivals from the United States and Southeast Asian countries," Kim added.
Additionally, South Korea has suspended the 90-day visa-free regime with Japan in a mirror step after Japan did the same last week, Yonhap reported.
South Korea became among the worst coronavirus-hit nations outside China after cluster of infection emerged in the southeastern city of Daegu.
Aggressive testing and selective quarantining has since seen the number of new infections plateau, rendering South Korea as an example of effective measures to combat COVID-19.
As of Monday, South Korea has recorded over 8,200 cases with 75 deaths as a result.
