Canada Quarantine, Korea Quarantine: A firsthand comparison.

Upon returning to Canada from Taipei, we were greeted by an unmasked CBSA officer yelling across the jetway: “How you guys feeling? Any cough or fever?” Nobody answered. We walked past.

We were given a 14-day quarantine leaflet at immigration and cleared with no other questions. We entered the country with freedom — freedom to spread Coronavirus to everyone. I caught an Uber unchecked and made my way home. This was the extent of Canada’s approach to limit the spread of the virus.

I completed the 14-day quarantine for the safety of others. Many do not. Many go unchecked. For transparency, this occurred in the spring of 2020 during the early days of the pandemic. Entry requirements have changed since, but freedom still remains.

Fast forward a few months, I’m now sitting in quarantine in South Korea. My second quarantine of the pandemic — a quarantine drastically different from the first.

Upon exiting the airplane, we were immediately greeted by a medical officer who took our temperature and gathered our accommodation address, mobile number, emergency contact information, as well as our flight details to aid in contact tracing. This was the very beginning of a rigorous quarantine process at Seoul-Incheon International Airport.

Five separate checkpoints later, I cleared immigration. This was not before surrendering my mobile phone to the Korean military to install tracking software, to provide fingerprints, to disclose all my personal information. We were not free to roam the airport. They knew where I was going, and I had to follow their rules.

Korea has a closed loop quarantine system. No taxi calls. No riding public transportation. How different this is from Canada.

We were escorted to a blacked-out quarantine shuttle bus to the local train station. We parked at a back entrance and were greeted by government minders who led us through dedicated foreigner hallways. Never out of sight, and never in contact with the general public. We then boarded a designated high speed Coronavirus KTX train.

The group of foreigners and I all had different stops throughout Korea. As we approached my stop, I noticed a man standing on the dimply lit platform. It was dark, but the pollution cast an ambient light as it so often does. The train stopped and I jumped off. The man on the platform was waiting for me. He knew my name. He knew who I was and where I was going. I was never alone.

I arrived at my accommodation and began settling in. The newly-installed tracking software on my phone noted I was home. I was not to leave. I was a prisoner being tracked in my own home.

The next day, two PCR swab tests were scheduled by the government. It was mid day when I heard sirens drive up. An ambulance stops in from of my building. Second later, a call to my number. It was testing time. Not allowed to leave quarantine, except for this. I walk to the quarantine ambulance.

As soon as I left my accommodation, my phone lit up with a black and red warning message. They knew I had left my facility. I had left my prison. I was being actively traced. After receiving my test, the warning message stopped — big brother knew I was on a designated outing.

What would have happen if I casually went outside? I’d be traced, picked up, and fined upwards of $10,000. I’d face possible jail time of 1 year, an invoice for the entire cost of services related to the quarantine, and then, in my case as a foreigner, deported.

In Canada, I was able to spread the virus within minutes upon entry into the country. No problem to roam the airport, grab an Uber, stop at a store. In Korea, I am a prisoner. The Coronavirus is a prisoner.

To be sure, Canada has improved its approach for inbound travellers, but passengers are still free. There’s no tracking and no tracing.

Which approach is correct?

At the time of writing, Korea, a controlled land of nearly 52 million residents, successfully bent the curve of its third wave. Total infections stand at approximately 130,000, with about 1,900 dead.

Meanwhile, Canada, a land of freedom for about 38 million people, is having difficulty controlling its third wave. Total infections are over 1,300,000, with deaths approaching 25,000.

Who is actually free?

Government control and the temporary stripping away of freedoms in Korea has led to fewer deaths. The economy is maintained relative to others, mass shutdowns avoided, and hospital capacity secured.

Canada, the land of personal freedom and choice, sees record cases and record deaths. Economies shuttered for the second time, livelihoods destroyed, and hospitals stretched. The health and economic burdens facing Canada are unprecedented. And these burdens will be lifted onto the backs of the working class for decades.

Freedom may not be where we think.