(LEAD) S. Korea expands strict quarantine screenings to Hong Kong, Macao

(ATTN: RECASTS headline, lead with updated info; RESTRUCTURES throughout; ADDS photo)

SEOUL, Feb. 11 (Yonhap) -- South Korea said Tuesday it will apply strict quarantine screening to entrants from Hong Kong and Macao, in addition to those who arrive from mainland China.

Currently, entrants from China are asked to fill out health questionnaires to check whether they have fever or respiratory problems.

Foreigners are required to write a special quarantine report, providing their mobile phone numbers and domestic stay addresses and disclosing any visit to Hubei Province -- the epicenter of the global outbreak -- in the past two weeks.

The measure, set to take effect Wednesday, comes after reports that the country's 26th and 27th confirmed cases stayed in China's Guangdong Province for three months before returning here on Jan. 31 via Macao.

Neither were screened upon arrival, as their flight stopped over at Macao, according to the country's health authorities.

Passengers from China are required to pass through "China-only" arrival counters at airports for suspected symptoms of the new coronavirus.

Since Feb. 4, South Korea also has implemented entry ban on all foreign travelers who, over the past 14 days, have stayed in or traveled to the central Chinese province, home to Wuhan, where the novel coronavirus is believed to have originated late last year.

sam@yna.co.kr
(END)