South Korea Drops COVID-19 Test Rule on Arrival for Travelers from China

Illustration of Gimhae International Airport Busan, South Korea. (Wikimedia Commons/Br\"ucke-Osteuropa)

JAKARTA - South Korea will not require travelers from China to take a COVID-19 test on arrival starting next month, though they will still have to take a pre-departure test, a South Korean official said on Wednesday.

South Korea imposed several restrictions on passengers from China, after Beijing lifted its strict no-COVID-19 policy late last year. Recently, Seoul has relaxed it after the COVID-19 situation in China improved.

"Additional easing of quarantine measures seems likely, as the positivity rate among arrivals from China has fallen from 18.4 percent in the first week of January, to 0.6 percent in the third week of February," said Kim Sung-ho, deputy minister at the ministry. Home Affairs and Security, cited from Reuters, February 22.

Starting March 1, South Korea will also allow flights from China to land at airports other than Incheon International Airport, which has been the single gateway for flights from China since early January.

However, the mandatory pre-departure PCR test for passengers from China will remain in effect until March 10, said Kim, to monitor and evaluate the impact of relaxing the regulations.

Separately, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said Beijing was willing to consider a response to the policy change.

South Korea has previously resumed issuing short-term visas to travelers from China, followed by the lifting of similar visa restrictions imposed by Beijing in response to Seoul's border restrictions.