Chinese Travelers Freed "Will Visit Korea in January"... Fear of 'COVID Spread'

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Byeon Seon-jin] "Winter ends and our spring comes."

This was a post on January 28 on China’s largest social networking service (SNS) ‘Weibo’ after Chinese quarantine authorities decided to abolish facility quarantine for overseas arrivals starting January 8. This Chinese netizen shared photos taken during a trip to Korea at the end of 2019 and expressed joy that overseas travel has become possible again. On Chinese online communities, posts such as “I will be the first to go on the long-awaited trip to Korea in January next year” and “I will visit overseas friends I haven’t seen for over three years” are flooding in.

As China recently decided to ease entry restrictions, there are forecasts that the spread of the ‘7th wave’ of this winter, which had been rising moderately, may accelerate. The BF.7 variant, which has a low share in Korea, is spreading in China and increasing infections, and the number of confirmed cases arriving from China has also sharply increased recently.

Confirmed cases from China, which were in the 1% range, jumped to 14.2% in December

According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) on the 29th, among 73,030 overseas-imported confirmed COVID-19 cases recorded since the first domestic case on January 3, 2020, the proportion of cases imported from China is only 1.4% (990 cases). In November, among 1,750 overseas-imported confirmed cases, the proportion from China was also low at 1.1% (19 cases). The reason for the low number of confirmed cases from China so far is that both domestic and foreign nationals entering China had to quarantine for a total of 8 days?5 days in a facility and 3 days self-quarantine?making it difficult for Chinese people to travel abroad.

However, with growing expectations this month for the lifting of China’s ‘zero COVID’ policy maintained for three years, the proportion of Chinese confirmed cases from January 1 to 27 rose to 14.2% (253 cases) of all overseas-imported confirmed cases. Following the announcement by Chinese quarantine authorities on the 26th that quarantine measures for arrivals will be lifted from February 8, it is analyzed that the number of Chinese visitors to Korea will increase in the future.

Professor Kim Woo-joo of the Infectious Diseases Department at Korea University Guro Hospital analyzed, “China, including Beijing, where the BF.7 variant is circulating, is preparing to open up. Considering the domestic situation where various variants compete and coexist like the Warring States period, the peak of the 7th wave may not have arrived yet.” The domestic detection rate of BF.7 was 3.7% in the third week of December (18?24), slightly down from 4.0% the previous week, but the rate among overseas-imported cases increased from 3.8% to 5.4%.

The BA.5 variant, which led the previous summer wave, dropped from 52.0% to 46.1%, while the BN.1 variant rose from 20.6% to 24.4%. The BA.2.75 variant increased from 5.7% to 7.9%, and the detection rate of the ‘BQ sibling variants (BQ.1 and BQ.1.1)’ stands at 12.2%. When multiple variants with strong immune evasion compete, reinfections occur more easily, and the spread of COVID-19 can continue. The reinfection rate rose to 17.1% in the second week of December (11?17), up from 15.9% the previous week, meaning one in six cases is a reinfection.

Quarantine authorities to announce measures regarding China and COVID-19 on the 30th

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 16th, quarantine authorities designated China as a ‘targeted quarantine country’ and strengthened the fever threshold from 37.5°C to 37.3°C. They also require PCR testing for symptomatic individuals’ companions even if asymptomatic, while monitoring variant viruses that may have characteristic changes through whole genome sequencing. Im Suk-young, head of the Central Disease Control Headquarters Situation Management Team, said, “With China opening up in January next year, frequent travel between China and Korea is expected, and an increase in confirmed cases is predicted,” adding, “The government is evaluating this impact from multiple perspectives.”

The quarantine authorities will discuss and announce the measures related to China and COVID-19 at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters on the 30th. Professor Jung Jae-hoon of Gachon University’s Department of Preventive Medicine pointed out, “PCR testing should be temporarily conducted for arrivals and transit passengers from China to confirm infection status. Also, it is important to identify and share the characteristics of variants through variant testing of positive cases.” In Korea, the mandatory PCR testing for overseas arrivals and departures was abolished between September and October.

Several countries overseas are already strengthening quarantine measures for arrivals from China in anticipation of increased Chinese arrivals. In Japan, from the 30th, all arrivals from China must undergo COVID-19 testing unconditionally. The United States is also considering new quarantine measures to apply to arrivals from China.

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