Variant Virus... Government "Temporary Suspension of UK Flights Until Year-End" (Update)

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] The government will suspend flights with the United Kingdom until the end of the year to block the domestic inflow of the new coronavirus variant spreading in the UK.

Yoon Tae-ho, head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters' quarantine team, announced on the 23rd, "Flights with the UK will be temporarily suspended from today until the 31st."

As more than 50 countries worldwide have imposed entry restrictions on travelers from the UK, government ministries and agencies prepared this response plan at a meeting held yesterday afternoon.

In addition to the temporary suspension of flights, the issuance of quarantine exemption certificates by Korean diplomatic missions in the UK will be halted, and all arrivals from the UK will undergo an additional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test after completing a two-week quarantine.

Entry quarantine measures will also be strengthened. Yoon said, "The fever threshold will be adjusted from 37.5 degrees to 37.3 degrees Celsius, and all flight crew members will undergo diagnostic testing." He added, "Furthermore, if any confirmed cases from the UK are detected, all will be tested using PCR to verify whether they carry the variant virus."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.