[Asia Economy Reporter Byeon Seon-jin] The government will resume issuing short-term visas for travelers from China starting on the 11th.
On the 10th, the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters announced that, based on the evaluation of overseas inflow related to COVID-19 from China, the positive rate from airport tests for short-term entrants from China between January 29 and February 4 was 1.4%. This indicates a declining trend in the COVID-19 situation within China, and no concerning variants have been detected. Accordingly, the government decided to lift early the restrictions on issuing short-term visas to China, which had been scheduled to last until the end of this month.
Last month, on the 2nd, the government implemented restrictions on issuing short-term visas to Chinese nationals and mandated COVID-19 testing upon entry. On the 5th of the same month, pre-entry COVID-19 testing requirements were also introduced.
However, COVID-19 testing before and after entry, waiting for results, and operation of temporary home quarantine facilities will be maintained. Short-term entrants from China must wait up to 4 hours in a designated waiting room at the airport until their test results are available. If confirmed positive, they are quarantined for 7 days in one of the 133 rooms prepared by the government. As of this date, 8 confirmed cases are currently in quarantine at temporary home quarantine facilities.
Aside from the suspension of short-term visa issuance, the government plans to maintain other quarantine measures until the end of this month, with a policy to gradually ease restrictions depending on future developments.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
