1. Main page
  2. Information Center
  3. Government News

Government News

Short-term visa ban on travelers from China to end on Feb. 11
Source
KOREA.net
Date
2023.02.16

The ban on short-term visas for travelers from China to Korea will be lifted on Feb. 11.


The announcement came 40 days after the Korean government on Jan. 2 suspended such visas due to the surge in COVID-19 in China unless for diplomatic and official affairs or humanitarian reasons.


The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters in a meeting on Feb. 10 said, "The restriction on short-term visa issuance for passengers from China will be lifted from Feb. 11."


Seoul made the decision considering that the peak of the COVID-19 surge in China had subsided and entered a stabilization phase. The percentage of travelers from China testing positive for the coronavirus recently decreased to the 1% level, and the lack of a variant of concern among confirmed cases from that country was the basis for the restriction's lifting.


The government will consider gradually easing remaining quarantine measures like submission of a negative test result for the coronavirus before traveling, testing at airports and operation of temporary isolation facilities after comprehensively reviewing the situation.


Despite the rule on wearing a mask indoors from Jan. 30 being revised from a requirement to a recommendation, the number of COVID-19 infections has shown a downward trend. As of midnight that day, the figure of 13,000 marked the eighth straight week of decline and the lowest for a Friday in 32 weeks. The number of critically ill patients who were hospitalized remained in the 200 range for five consecutive days with 17 deaths.



By Yun Dahee

daheeyun@korea.kr