Travelers from China move to take COVID-19 tests at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, on Feb. 14, 2023. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Feb. 22 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea decided to lift a requirement for travelers from China to take PCR tests after their arrival here from next month as the COVID-19 situation remains stable, an official said Wednesday.
Though the post-arrival test requirement will be lifted on March 1, the pre-arrival test requirement will remain in place until March 10 to monitor the effect of the eased restrictions, said Kim Sung-ho, a senior interior ministry official, during a COVID-19 response meeting.
“We believe that an additional easing of quarantine measures will be possible,” he said.
South Korea has required travelers from China to show negative COVID-19 test results before boarding flights to the country and take an additional PCR test within the first day of their entry since early January amid a surge in COVID-19 infections in the neighboring nation.
But China’s situation has since stabilized and South Korea has been lifting restrictions one by one.
On Wednesday, the government also decided to allow flights from China to land at other airports besides Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, according to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters.
The move comes as the rate of COVID-19-positive people among arrivals from China has subsided to 0.6 percent in the third week of February from 18.4 percent in the first week of January.
On Feb. 11, South Korea resumed issuing short-term visas for Chinese visitors, and China also restarted issuance of short-term visas for South Koreans on Saturday.
The government will also increase flights between South Korea and China from 62 per week to 80 per week by the end of this month and to 100 per week in March, the officials said.
(Yonhap)
