Korea to lift PCR test requirement on arrivals from China starting March

• Published date: 28 February 2023
• Publication title: The Korea Times

Kim Sung-ho, vice minister for disaster and safety management at the Ministry of Interior and Safety, speaks during a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters held at the Government Complex in Sejong, Wednesday. During the meeting, the government decided to lift the mandatory post-arrival PCR tests for travelers from China beginning March 1. Yonhap

By Jun Ji-hye

Korea will lift mandatory post-arrival PCR tests on travelers entering Korea from China beginning March 1, as the COVID-19 situation has remained stable in both countries in recent weeks.

The government also decided to lift a measure that has restricted all flights arriving from China to land only at Incheon International Airport.

The authorities said, however, that the pre-arrival test requirement and Q-code uploads that visitors entering the country from China need to submit will remain in place until March 10 to monitor the effects of the eased restrictions.

Kim Sung-ho, vice minister for disaster and safety management at the Ministry of Interior and Safety, speaks during a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters held at the Government Complex in Sejong, Wednesday. During the meeting, the government decided to lift the mandatory post-arrival PCR tests for travelers from China beginning March 1. Yonhap

A noticeboard showing information on post-arrival PCR tests for visitors entering from China stands at the arrival hall of Incheon International Airport, Wednesday. Yonhap

On Jan. 2, Korea tightened various curbs on arrivals from China amid a surge in coronavirus infections there.

As China's COVID-19 infection wave and virus situation have entered a phase of stabilization, the government has gradually lifted these measures, beginning with a resumption in short-term visas issuances for Chinese visitors on Feb. 11.

The government also lifted a restriction on increasing the number of flights between Korea and China on Feb. 17.

In return, China resumed issuing short-term visas to Koreans on Feb. 18.

"We assessed that the degree of risk of the pandemic situation in China is not high," a Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) official said.

KDCA data showed that the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in China has significantly decreased from more than 40 million in the fourth week of December to 149,000 in the second week of February.

The number of deaths in that country has also fallen from 12,000 in the fifth week of...