The morning after my arrival, I was greeted with a phone call from the local government office. They had assigned a social worker to me for all my questions. I assumed he was in charge of all the international travelers quarantining in the area. He informed me about my do’s and don’ts during my quarantine.
- I was not allowed to go outside.
- I was not allowed to have guest over.
- I was to perform a temperature check every morning and evening.
- I was to keep my GPS on at all time.
- If I don’t move (If my GPS does not detect movement) for a certain period of time, I would get a random phone call or a visit.
- If my phone dies, the social worker would come check up on me.
Since I was planning on staying at the house by myself for the next 2 weeks, these were not a problem. He told me that the emergency kit will arrive the next day (2nd day of my quarantine) and that it would have information packets as well as the materials I would need. I didn’t have a thermometer and asked about #3 and he told me to just write in 36.5c in the app and in the notes section, write in that I didn’t have the thermometer yet.
He also asked if I needed food for the time being and I answered yes. He couldn’t tell me what type of food it was over the phone but told me it would be something I could cook with just the microwave. He assured me that all the materials will arrive the next day and I could start doing the temperature check as soon as it arrives.
Later that evening (1st night of quarantining), I received a text message, stating that I was Covid – negative from yesterday’s test. Even though I tested negative, I was suppose to stay under quarantine since there was the 14 day incubation period.
On my 2nd day of quarantine, as promised, all the materials were delivered to the house. It was delivered by the local office and they dropped it off in front of my house and called me to come out and pick it up. They had 1 big box and a small shopping bag. (On the box, it says “We can overcome Covid-19 if we are together” and it was from the Disaster Relief Foundation)
In the small shopping bag, there were the information packet, hand sanitizer, thermometer, extra masks, and hazard-marked trash bags. The information packet stated the rules again and had information about what to do on my last day. It was all in Korean. I assumed since the people who could quarantine outside the facilities are people with family in Korea, they would speak Korean. I do hope they have English versions available for 2nd/3rd gen. Koreans who are coming in to visit family. It also had official government forms with my personal information, stating how long I was to be quarantined at the written address. They were very thorough.
I was also surprised at the trash bag they provided. Normal trash bags in Korea are white or blue but this was bright neon orange. It also had the hazard sign on it. It made me feel like I was contagious and dangerous lol
As for the box, it was packed with food! There were rice, guk (soup), juk (porridge), and some side dishes. I was actually surprised at the amount of food. It looked like they made the effort to gave different variety of food so people don’t get bored and what to bolt out of their quarantine.
My father had to quarantine in August but he did not receive this box. I believe only foreigners get the food assistance and the content differs from family size and which district you were quarantining under. My father’s friend was under quarantine during the same time but in a different region and his box was more luxurious(?) than mine. I have been told that foreigners who are quarantining at the facility might get daily meals instead of pre-cooked food assistance.
I was actually just thankful to have free food for the duration of my stay. What I received above was my meal for the next 2 weeks. Of course since my parents lived hereby, if there was something I wanted, I texted the food to them and they came and left it on my doorknob. There are also lots of food delivery app in Korea and almost all types of food can be delivered. During quarantine, you can also order delivery but you cannot order food that would require you to return the dishes (aka. Chinese food). Just watch out for this.
And now that I got my thermometer, I had to check myself twice a day. My app would go off if I didn’t check myself on time. Usually the alarm would go off around 10 am, warning me that I have not submitted my morning checkup. And the evening one went off around 7pm.
The app itself is really easy to use. When you first download it, you have the option to select the languages. I picked Korean because that made it easier for the agents at the airport to set it up for me. (I had some issues downloading the app). When you need to submit your temperature, the circle would be red. You would tap the circle and the 2nd page opens and asks for your temperature as well as indication for symptoms. At the bottom of the page, there was a space for notes. Once submitted, it would take you to the main page and the circle would be blue. Simple.
They also provided me with a semi-therapist? The lady who called me was from a local community center and that she was in charge of my mental health/status while I was under quarantine. I’m guessing that a lot of people started to complain and maybe get depressed from being alone for 2 weeks. She asked questions about my wellbeing, mostly about my mental health, how I was holding up being alone, and if I needed anything to make me feel better. I told her I want to see people and be outside and she recommended that I put up the window curtain and talk to my parents from a distance. Not sure if this would help any elderly people under quarantine. But it was a nice gesture. She called me once a week but told me that if I felt anything, I can call at anytime.
After 2 weeks, I was FREE!!! On my last day, I got a final call from the same agent as the first day, and he went over my exit strategy. He told me that I need to take all the trash out in the orange bag and stray the inside and outside with the hand sanitizer. I was also suppose to re-wrap the orange bag with white/blue trash bag. Since I didn’t have any, I asked where I can get them, and he said I didn’t need to do it and that it could just be thrown out.
At 12pm, I was going to walk free, IF I didn’t have any symptoms. Luckily, I did not have any symptoms for the duration of my quarantine and I was able to just go. I had to keep the windows open in the house I quarantined at to circulate the air and the house had to be fully cleaned 24 hours after my departure.
It felt so nice to leave the house and I cannot wait to explore Korea!
Moons on the Move 