South Korea on Friday became the latest country to impose restrictions on travellers from China over a huge spike in Covid infections. South Korea has imposed visa restrictions, testing requirements on Chinese travellers, and is also limiting flights. “Until February next year, those entering (South Korea) from China will be required to undergo a Covid test before and after their arrival,” South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said, news agency AFP reported.
Han said that the government “is inevitably strengthening some anti-epidemic measures” to prevent the spread of Covid in South Korea due to the worsening pandemic situation in China.
Travellers from China will have to provide a negative report of PCR test taken within 48 hours before boarding an aircraft to South Korea, or a negative antigen test within 24 hours before departure.
Prime Minister Han said on Friday that these travellers will be required to undergo a PCR test on the first day of their arrival, adding the government is scaling back the number of flights from China and all flights (from China) will now have to land only at South Korea’s Incheon International Airport.
South Korea will also restrict issuing of short-term visas to Chinese nationals until the end of January next year. However, this excludes public officials, diplomats and people with crucial humanitarian and business purposes.
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Earlier, the United States, India, Italy and Japan imposed curbs on Chinese travellers — citing a lack of details from Beijing on variants and concerns over a new wave of infections.
In Pakistan’s Sindh, the government recommended testing all inbound travellers from China. Spain and Italy, who are members of the European Union, also imposed Covid curbs on Chinese travellers.
On Thursday, Italy had urged the rest of the European Union to test travellers from China for the virus, but EU’s other member states have resisted the pressure to immediately impose checks on travellers.
Meanwhile, the Chinese state media has hit out at the curbs imposed by countries by calling them unfounded and discriminatory. A report by the Global Times late Thursday said, “The real intention is to sabotage China’s three years of Covid-19 control efforts and attack the country’s system.”
(With inputs from agencies)
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