A senior South Korean official said on Wednesday that travelers from China will not be required to test for Covid-19 upon arrival beginning next month, but they will still be required to do pre-departure testing.
China Daily reports that South Korea had implemented a number of immigration controls on Chinese passengers following Beijing’s move to relax stringent zero-Covid policies.
“Additional easing of quarantine measures appear possible as the positive rate among arrivals from China has dropped from 18.4 percent in the first week of January to 0.6 percent in the third week of February,” said Kim Sung-ho, a vice-ministerial official at the Ministry of Interior and Safety, during a meeting on responses to the Covid pandemic.
Mandatory PCR testing for travelers departing from China will stay in effect until 10 March, according to Kim, in order to monitor and evaluate the impact of other Covid regulation changes.
South Korea had earlier resumed granting short-term visas to Chinese visitors, followed by Beijing easing similar visa restrictions imposed in retaliation for Seoul’s border restrictions.
