South Korean Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun told a government meeting on the COVID-19 outbreak that special immigration procedures began to be imposed on all people arriving from the entire Europe at midnight.

The tighter screening came as infected patients surged across Europe recently, with the number topping 20,000 in Italy and the readings in other major European nations rising sharply.

The prime minister ordered the health and foreign ministries to review whether additional measures will be needed to prevent the imported cases.

South Korea already imposed the tighter immigration procedures on nine countries, including Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands as well as China, Japan and Iran.

Under the intensified procedures, all entrants, both South Korean and foreign nationals, will be required to get fever checks and submit papers on health conditions at airports.

They will also be required to download a self-diagnosis smartphone app to submit self-diagnosis results for 14 days and to be placed under intensive care if they show symptoms.