Korea issuing short-term visas again for travelers from China

A Korean quarantine official escorts travelers from China for PCR testing at Incheon International Airport on Sunday.. [YONHAP]

Korea started issuing short-term visas for people traveling from China starting Saturday as the ratio of those testing positive for Covid-19 on arrival dropped into the 1-percent range.

According to the Korean Disease Control and Prevention Agency on Saturday, 1,982 people arrived from China. Of those, 345 people were on short-term visas. Seven tested positive.

The total number of people from abroad testing positive for Covid-19 on Saturday was 29.

The Central Disease Control Headquarters said Friday that it has decided to lift the suspension, which was supposed to run until the end of this month, early.

“The percentage of travelers entering from China that have tested positive for Covid-19 has recently fallen to the 1-percent range, and there are no concerns of variants emerging,” Kim Sung-ho, a senior official at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, said Friday.

According to the government, the rate of people traveling from China on short-term visas that tested positive for Covid-19 on arrival was 1.4 percent between Jan. 29 and Feb. 4.

This is a sharp drop considering that in the first week that positive test rate was 30 percent.

The Korean government continues to implement strict restrictions, including a negative test result 48 hours prior to arriving in Korea and PCR testing on arrival for those traveling from China, until the end of this month.

Other jurisdictions including Taiwan and Italy have lifted the PCR testing-on-arrival requirement for travelers from China since Feb. 1, while Japan is considering the change.

According to the Japan Times, the Japanese government is considering lifting its testing of Chinese travelers on arrival. However, the travelers are still required to provide a negative test result made 72 hours prior to boarding the plane.

The Korean government suspended issuance of short-term visas for travelers from China on Jan. 2. after the number of people in China that were infected with Covid-19 surged when the Chinese government abandoned its zero-Covid policy.

Only people traveling for business, diplomacy or humanitarian reasons were allowed to apply for visas during that period.

The Korean government further extended the suspension, which initially was to expire at the end of January, for another month in fear of a resurgence caused by people traveling in China during the Lunar New Year holiday.

China in response to the news on Friday said it will consider lifting its retaliatory suspension of short-term visa issuance for Korean nationals.

In a regular press briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said the Chinese government will positively consider reissuing short-term visas to Koreans.

“Korea has taken the appropriate step in lifting the visa restriction against China, removing an obstacle to exchanges of people between the two countries,” Ning said.

Beijing immediately retaliated by suspending short-term visas for Koreans to enter China, as well as transit visas on Jan. 10.

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