Seoul, (Samajweekly) South Korea’s Justice Ministry said on Friday that it has implemented an administrative order that restricts the scope of activities for all foreign arrivals for the first time over the coronavirus pandemic.
The restriction order has started to apply to all foreign entrants who have arrived in South Korea since Wednesday as the government was struggling to curb imported cases of COVID-19, reports Yonhap News Agency.
This is the first time that such an order has been implemented in South Korea.
Violators can face a prison term of a maximum three years or a fine up to 20 million won ($16,261).
The action came as some foreigners infected with the coronavirus did not follow the self-isolation rules and travelled without wearing masks, raising the risk of infections.
The government has required all international arrivals to be quarantined for two weeks since Wednesday.
Foreigners who do not abide by the self-isolation rules will be deported.
The Justice Ministry called on foreigners to follow the quarantine rules and the restriction order.
Meanwhile, South Korea continued to see a decline in new coronavirus cases on Friday, but Seoul and the surrounding areas reported a continued rise in virus infections due to cluster transmission and imported cases, reports Yonhap News Agency.
The 86 new cases of COVID-19, detected on Thursday and slightly down from 89 new cases a day earlier, brought the country’s total cases to 10,062 and marked the 22nd consecutive day that new infections have hovered around 100 or fewer additional cases, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).
The country’s death toll rose by five to 174, with more than half of fatalities being patients aged 80 or older, the KCDC said.
