Passengers departing from China are checking in at Incheon International Airport. news 1As the Korean government has decided to suspend PCR testing for new coronavirus infection (Corona 19) after entering the country from the 1st of next month, the Chinese authorities are expected to take ‘corresponding measures’ sooner or later. am
An official from the Chinese Embassy in Korea said on the 22nd, “Since South Korea announced today that it will lift PCR (for travelers arriving from China), we will go through related procedures.
Regarding this, another official from the embassy explained, “Visas are issued at the embassy, but PCR is conducted in China. did.
At the Corona 19 Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting held on the same day, the government said, “The (Corona 19) positive rate of entrants from China fell from 18.4% in the first week of January to 0.6% in the third week of February, so it is judged that further easing of quarantine measures will be possible. “From March 1st, it was decided to lift the mandatory post-entry PCR measure for entrants from China.
However, the Korean government will extend the mandatory PCR and Q-code (quarantine information pre-entry system) input before entry for entrants from China until the 10th of next month, but will decide whether to terminate it after evaluating the impact of the suspension of other strengthened quarantine measures. plan.
Previously, as Corona 19 re-proliferated in China from the end of last year, the Korean government took measures such as restricting the issuance of ‘short-term visas’ and ‘additional flights’ for travelers from China on the 2nd of last month, and requiring PCR testing after entry.
In response, the Chinese authorities said that the Korean government’s corresponding measures were “discriminatory” and from the 10th of the same month △Suspension of issuance of short-term visas to Koreans △Suspension of issuance of visas on arrival and transit visa exemptions for Koreans △Foreigners excluding Chinese nationals from Korea Measures such as mandatory PCR have been implemented sequentially.
In the meantime, the South Korean government resumed issuance of short-term visas on the 11th of this month in response to a decrease in the positive rate of COVID-19 among entrants from China, and China resumed issuing short-term and arrival visas and exempting transit visas for Korean nationals one week later.
In the midst of this, the South Korean government decided to increase international flights between Korea and China, which had been limited to 62 per week, to 80 per week by the end of this month, while also lifting the unification of domestic destinations for flights from China (Incheon International Airport) on the 1st of next month.
Therefore, there are observations that the Chinese authorities are highly likely to ease or lift quarantine measures, such as the mandatory PCR for entrants from Korea, that are currently in effect next month.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.