S. Korea to no longer require pre-travel COVID-19 tests for inbound travelers starting Saturday
9월 3일부터 입국전 코로나19 검사 폐지...추석연휴 고속도로 통행료 면제, 대중교통 실내취식 허용 Starting Saturday,... South Korea will lift its pre-travel COVID-19 testing requirement for inbound travelers. Virus prevention measures will also be eased for the upcoming Chuseok holiday, which begins in just over a week. Lee Shi-hoo reports. From this Saturday, September 3rd, people departing for South Korea will no longer have to take a PCR test before traveling. That's according to the nation's Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters on Wednesday. The change applies to both South Korean citizens and non-citizens. Currently, all those arriving must submit negative results of a PCR test taken within 48 hours of arrival... or a Rapid Antigen Test taken within 24 hours of arrival before being allowed to enter the country. Then within one day of arrival,... they must take an additional PCR test. Such measures have been criticized for the inconvenience and financial burden they put on travelers. While negative COVID-19 test results will no longer be required in order to enter the country,... the QR code arrivals system will remain, and travelers must still take PCR tests within one day of arrival... to minimize the spread of COVID-19 variants from overseas. Meanwhile, the government has also decided to introduce in the 4th quarter... what are known as "bivalent" vaccines, which can target both the original COVID-19 strain and certain variants. In this case, the vaccines offered will target the BA.5 omicron sub-variant. Those over 60 and those with underlying health conditions will have priority in receiving the shots, but adults over 18 who have completed their second shots of the COVID-19 vaccine could also receive the bivalent shots if they wish. SK Bioscience's SKYCovione vaccine will also start being used from September. COVID-19 restrictions will also be eased for the upcoming Chuseok holiday. Authorities will push to exempt toll fees on highways around the country during the four-day holiday. There will be no restrictions on family gatherings and visits... and eating will be allowed on buses, trains, and at highway rest areas. At nine rest areas around the country, COVID-19 test centers will be set up to offer free PCR tests. But in-person visits to nursing homes and facilities where there are many vulnerable people... will still be restricted. Meanwhile, South Korea reported 103-thousand-9-hundred-61 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, around 11-thousand fewer than the day before... and 35-thousand fewer than a week ago. There are currently 5-hundred-69 severely-ill patients... and there were 75 COVID-related deaths. Lee Shi-hoo, Arirang News. #COVID19 #Chuseok #Arirang_News 📣 Arirang News(Facebook) : / arirangtvnews 📣 Arirang News(Twitter) : / arirangtvnews 📣 News Center(YouTube) : / newscenter_arirangtv 2022-08-31, 12:00 (KST)
