People walk out of the arrivals gate at Incheon International Airport, Friday. Korea is set to impose mandatory COVID-19 tests on all visitors from China. Yonhap

Gov't to restrict visas and numbers of flights due to variant fears

By Jung Min-ho

Korea will impose mandatory COVID-19 tests on all visitors from China, joining several other countries strengthening border controls, due to fears of variant strains after Beijing's decision earlier this month to abandon its "zero-COVID" policy.

From Jan. 5, all travelers from China will be required to present a negative result from a PCR test, no more than 48 hours later or a rapid antigen test taken within 24 hours before departure. They will also have to take another PCR test upon arrival or within 24 hours.

To restrict the number of visitors coming from China, which has recently stopped publishing daily updates on the pandemic, Korea will not issue short-term visas for those visiting Korea unless it is for diplomatic, business and humanitarian reasons ― between Jan. 2 and 31.

Moreover, the number of flights between the two countries will stay below the current level (5 percent of pre-pandemic levels) until further notice, and the planes will be allowed to enter only through Incheon International Airport.

Those confirmed to have been infected will be isolated in quarantine facilities for a week.

The costs for PCR tests as well as using quarantine facilities will be paid for by visitors.

"The government is inevitably strengthening anti-virus measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in Korea because of the worsening situation in China," Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said during a meeting at the government complex in Seoul Friday. "If the number of new cases from overseas increases drastically or a new variant is found, the government will take stronger measures while monitoring the situation closely."

There has been a surge in new cases from China in December. According to data from the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the number until Dec. 29 was 278 from just 19 the previous month.