Overseas Vaccine Recipients Also Exempt from Quarantine Starting Next Month... India, Indonesia, and Others Excluded (Update)

On the 28th, as concerns about the spread of COVID-19 variant viruses grow, overseas arrivals are waiting at Terminal 1 of Incheon International Airport. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] Starting next month, even if vaccination is completed overseas, quarantine exemption will be possible upon domestic entry for purposes such as visiting immediate family members. However, countries designated as 'variant outbreak countries' due to the prevalence of variant viruses, such as India and Indonesia, will have restrictions on quarantine exemptions.

The government announced on the 29th that it will implement the quarantine exemption system reform plan from the 'Overseas Vaccination Completion Entry Management System Reform Plan' announced on the 13th of last month, starting from the 1st of next month.

To receive such quarantine exemption, the reason for entry must meet one of the following: ▲important business purposes ▲academic or public interest purposes ▲humanitarian purposes such as attending funerals or visiting immediate family members ▲official overseas business trips. Additionally, the vaccines must be those approved for emergency use by the World Health Organization (WHO), including Pfizer, Janssen, Moderna, AstraZeneca (AZ), Covishield (AZ-Serum Institute of India), Sinopharm, and Sinovac, and all recommended doses must have been administered in the same country with at least two weeks having passed since the final dose.

However, even if vaccination is completed overseas, the government requires a total of three polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests (before entry, one day after entry, and six to seven days after entry), and plans to thoroughly manage to prevent the introduction of COVID-19 variant viruses into the country through active monitoring and other measures.

On the 28th, amid growing concerns over the spread of COVID-19 variant viruses, overseas arrivals are waiting at Terminal 1 of Incheon International Airport. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

Recently, as the spread of the Delta variant (Indian variant) virus overseas has become increasingly serious, the government additionally designated four countries?India, Indonesia, Pakistan, and the Philippines?as variant outbreak countries on this day.

Kwon Deok-cheol, Minister of Health and Welfare (First Deputy Head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters), said at the regular COVID-19 briefing on the 29th, "Entry from regions or countries where the Delta virus is prevalent will not be eligible for quarantine exemption for overseas vaccinated individuals," adding, "This applies to those entering from India, Indonesia, Pakistan, and the Philippines."

If designated as a variant outbreak country, the issuance of quarantine exemption certificates upon entry, which will be implemented from the 1st of next month, will be restricted. Previously, on the 17th, 17 countries including South Africa, Malawi, Botswana, Mozambique, Tanzania, Eswatini, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, Equatorial Guinea, Brazil, Suriname, Paraguay, Chile, Uruguay, Colombia, Argentina, and Malta were designated as variant outbreak countries. Including these four countries, the total has increased to 21 countries.

Minister Kwon stated that additional review will be conducted regarding the United Kingdom, where 90% of new confirmed cases are known to be infected with the Delta variant. He explained, "Although the Delta virus is widely spreading in the UK, vaccines have been shown to be effective," and added, "Depending on further analysis results, we will consider whether to additionally designate the UK."

Thus, among the top five countries from which major variant viruses have been introduced into Korea, all except Hungary have been designated as variant outbreak countries. In particular, Indonesia accounted for 42 cases of Delta variant importation in the past two weeks, representing 61.8% of the total 68 Delta variant import cases during that period.

The Delta variant is currently occurring in more than 85 countries worldwide, centered on India and the UK. It is reported to have 1.6 times higher transmissibility and about 2.26 times higher hospitalization rate compared to the Alpha variant. Additionally, there are interpretations that it may reduce vaccine efficacy, raising overall concerns that it is more dangerous than the Alpha variant.

Park Young-jun, Epidemiological Investigation Team Leader of the Central Disease Control Headquarters, explained at a briefing the day before, "Indonesia is also known as a country where the Delta variant has been confirmed," and added, "The recent increase in Delta variant cases among entrants from Indonesia requires a closer look at the surrounding circumstances."

The quarantine authorities plan to continuously analyze the risk level, vaccine efficacy, and domestic infection rates related to the Delta variant and discuss whether to add more countries to the variant outbreak list.

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