PCR Test Requirement Lifted After Entry Starting Today... Free Testing Available Within 3 Days for Those Who Wish

All COVID-19 Entry Restrictions Have Been Lifted

The government has decided to abolish the pre-entry COVID-19 test for overseas arrivals. On the 29th, the testing center at Incheon International Airport Terminal 2 was crowded with passengers. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] From the 1st, inbound travelers entering Korea from overseas are no longer required to undergo COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing. Following the lifting of quarantine obligations for arrivals and the removal of pre-entry testing requirements, all COVID-19 quarantine measures related to entry into Korea have been eliminated.

The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters announced in a meeting held the previous day that "from 0:00 on October 1, inbound travelers will no longer be required to undergo PCR testing within one day after entry."

Accordingly, all COVID-19 related entry restrictions have been lifted. Since the first COVID-19 diagnostic tests were conducted on symptomatic travelers arriving from Wuhan, China, in January 2020, all mandatory testing and restrictions for inbound travelers have been removed after approximately two years and nine months. On the 3rd of last month, the pre-entry COVID-19 testing (submission of negative test certificate) requirement was discontinued, and earlier on June 8, quarantine obligations for arrivals were fully lifted.

The health authorities explained that the decision to stop mandatory testing after entry was made after consulting experts, considering the stabilization of domestic and international quarantine situations, the low fatality rate of Omicron subvariants, and the inconvenience caused to the public by mandatory testing.

However, as before, if travelers exhibit COVID-19 symptoms such as fever upon entry, they will be moved to a separate location at the quarantine stage to undergo PCR testing.

Those who wish to be tested within three days after entry can receive a free PCR test at public health centers regardless of the presence or absence of COVID-19 symptoms.

Even after the suspension of mandatory testing, the government plans to continuously monitor symptomatic individuals at the quarantine stage, provide free testing at public health centers after entry, and conduct integrated surveillance of respiratory viruses nationwide to monitor domestic and international circulating variants.

Lee Ki-il, the first chief coordinator of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, stated, "The COVID-19 positivity rate among overseas arrivals has decreased from 1.3% in August to 0.9% this month, and the fatality rate of the currently dominant BA.5 variant is also declining. However, if a variant with a higher fatality rate emerges or if stricter entry management is required, we will consider reintroducing PCR testing."

According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, the number of new COVID-19 cases reported the previous day was in the 28,000 range, and so far, 24,077,000 people, accounting for 48% of the entire population, have experienced COVID-19 infection. The infection reproduction number is 0.80, marking five consecutive weeks below 1.

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