Restrictions on Chinese visitors extended for another month

People arriving from China being tested for Covid-19 at Incheon International Airport earlier this month. [YONHAP]

Chinese travelers will be prohibited from entering Korea for an additional month, through the end of February.

The rule restricting tourist arrivals from China, which first went into effect on Jan. 2, was to end on Jan. 31.

“While the situation within the country has been improving, we cannot completely exclude the possibility of a resurgence through those that arrive from overseas,” said Cho Kyoo-hong, health and welfare minister, on Friday.

The biggest concern has been the possibility of the infectious disease spreading widely in the aftermath of Chinese New Year, when people in the country tend to move around a lot.

This year, the Chinese government lifted heavy-handed restrictions that had kept people in their homes and limited travel.

The Korea government said that the restrictions on short-term visitors could be lifted earlier than the end of February if the situation improves.

Short-term visa have been issued to Chinese visitors in some situations, with exceptions made for diplomats, business people and travelers involved in humanitarian work.

According to the Korean health authorities, among the 1,404 people arriving in Korea and testing positive for Covid-19 in the last two weeks, 890 were from China.

In response to the Korean government’s restrictions on short-term visa issuance, China issued a reciprocal rule, even prohibiting transit passengers from Korea.

The Korean government also announced that it will reduce the number of beds reserved for Covid-19 patients to 2,000. Currently there are 5,800 sickbeds for Covid-19 patients.

According to the government, the reproduction number for Covid-19 has fallen for the third week to 0.77. The number of people testing positive for Covid-19 on Thursday was 31,000, roughly a 16 percent drop from the same day a week earlier.

Of all Covid-19 sickbeds, 27 percent are in use, down from 37 percent in the first week of this month.

China in turn resumed issuing general visas for Japanese citizens starting Sunday, according to the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo.

Earlier this month, Beijing began suspending the issuance of new visas to Korean and Japanese travelers as a retaliatory move after the two countries introduced stricter entry restrictions on travelers coming from China.

BY LEE HO-JEONG [lee.hojeong@joongang.co.kr]