Number of Countries Banning Entry from Korea Reduced to 56... Entry Restrictions Gradually Eased

Turkey, France, Switzerland, and 23 Other Countries Lift Entry Restrictions
Impact of South Korea Easing Social Distancing to Level 1

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Although the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) is resurging worldwide, the number of countries easing entry restrictions on arrivals from Korea is steadily increasing. In particular, the trend of easing entry bans has accelerated since the Korean government lowered social distancing to Level 1.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the 24th, 56 countries are currently enforcing entry bans on arrivals from Korea. For the first time last week, the number of countries with entry bans fell below 60 and continues to decline steadily. This is the lowest level since peaking at 153 countries in May. Nine countries, including the United States, Turkmenistan, Tunisia, Mauritius, Burundi, and Benin, are confirmed to be implementing facility quarantine measures.

The easing trend of entry bans has become noticeably apparent this month. This is interpreted as a result of the Korean government’s assessment that the domestic COVID-19 spread situation has stabilized and the lowering of social distancing to Level 1. The number of countries with entry bans dropped below 70 at the beginning of this month and continues to decrease.

Accordingly, the number of countries implementing the most relaxed entry restriction measures, namely 'strengthened quarantine and recommendations,' has sharply increased. There are 96 countries applying strengthened quarantine and recommendation measures, approaching 100 countries. Countries such as the Maldives, India, Thailand, Mexico, Brazil, Ecuador, Russia, Sweden, Spain, the United Kingdom, and Italy are included.

The number of countries that have lifted entry-related measures on arrivals from Korea is counted at 26. Last week, 25 countries were on the list of countries that lifted measures. Countries including Greece, the Netherlands, Romania, Luxembourg, Belgium, Bulgaria, Turkey, France, Switzerland, and Finland have lifted entry-related measures on arrivals from Korea.

This trend is expected to continue if the domestic COVID-19 spread situation is managed stably. However, as the number of new confirmed cases, which once dropped to the 40s, recently recorded triple digits, the vigilance of quarantine authorities is rising again, so the trend of easing entry restrictions by foreign countries can be reversed at any time. Additionally, with a rapid increase in COVID-19 cases centered in European countries, there is also a possibility that entry-related measures will be strengthened accordingly.

Meanwhile, exceptional entry cases for businesspeople are steadily increasing to about 20,000 from 21 countries. The Korean government has introduced and is implementing a 'fast-track entry' system with five countries including China, UAE, Indonesia, Singapore, and Japan, and is also negotiating with the Vietnamese government to introduce the fast-track entry system.