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From yesterday (2nd), quarantine measures were strengthened for entrants from China, and 1 out of 5 short-term residents who received a PCR test at the airport tested positive.
The government has also decided to strengthen quarantine for entrants from Hong Kong and Macau.
This is reporter Nam Joo-hyun.
<Reporter>
Yesterday, 1,052 people arrived from China through Incheon International Airport, and 309 of them were classified as short-term foreigners without a domestic address and were inspected at the airport.
Of the 309 people, 61 were tested positive.
With a positive rate of 19.7%, one out of five people was confirmed.
The confirmed entrants were moved to an isolation facility near the airport.
The government today announced a policy to strengthen quarantine for entrants from Hong Kong and Macau, which are close to China.
From the 7th, it will be mandatory to submit a negative confirmation of PCR or rapid antigen test for experts before entering the country, and to enter the quarantine information pre-entry system, so-called Q-code.
However, unlike those arriving from China, only those with symptoms will receive a PCR test after entering the country.
The reason the government expanded the areas subject to quarantine is because the number of confirmed cases has recently increased in Hong Kong and the number of arrivals from Hong Kong overtook those from China last month.
Mutant virus surveillance is also strengthened.
For confirmed cases from China, full-length genome analysis is performed.
The XBB.1.5 mutation, which is rapidly spreading in the United States and introduced into Korea, is also subject to tracking.
The XBB.1.5 mutation is one of the Omicron submutations and is known to have high immune evasion. In Korea, a total of 13 cases were confirmed, starting with the first detection on December 8 last year.