South Korea No Longer Require Chinese Tourists To Undergo Post-Arrival PCR Testing

(CTN NEWS) – SEOUL – As long as the COVID-19 situation is stable, Korea will no longer require visitors from China to undergo post-arrival PCR testing beginning next month, an official said on Wednesday.

According to Kim Sung-ho, a senior interior ministry official, during a COVID-19 response meeting, even though the post-arrival test requirement will be eliminated on March 1,

The pre-arrival test requirement will continue to be in place until March 10 to track the impact of the relaxed restrictions.

We anticipate further relaxing of quarantine restrictions being conceivable, he said.

Since early January, due to an increase in COVID-19 illnesses in the neighboring country, Korea has required visitors from China to submit negative COVID-19 test results upon arrival and undergo an additional PCR test during the first day of their entry.

China And Korea Removing Restrictions

However, since then, things in China have calmed, and Korea has been gradually removing restrictions.

According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Command, the government also agreed to allow planes from China to land at airports other than Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, on Wednesday.

The decision was made at a time when the rate of COVID-19-positive individuals among immigrants from China decreased from 18.4 percent in the first week of January to 0.6 percent in the third week of February.

On February 11, Korea resumed giving short-term visas to Chinese tourists, and on February 14, China resumed issuing short-term visas to Koreans.

According to the authorities, the government would also expand the number of weekly flights between Korea and China from 62 to 80 by the end of this month and to 100 by the end of March.

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