PCR tests no longer required after arrival to Korea starting Saturday

People wait to get tested for the coronavirus at a testing site in Incheon International Airport on Wednesday. [YONHAP]

 

The PCR tests mandatory upon arrival in Korea are no longer required for travelers into the country starting this Saturday, the countryโ€™s health authorities announced Friday.

โ€œAll mandatory PCR tests for inbound travelers will be lifted starting Oct. 1,โ€ said Lee Ki-il, the second vice minister of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, in a press briefing on Friday.

Travelers to Korea until Friday had to be tested for Covid-19 at least by the second midnight after arriving.

With this, all travel-related Covid-19 restrictions in Korea will have been lifted, as the authorities also lifted earlier mandatory quarantines and pre-arrival PCR tests for inbound travelers.

Anyone showing symptoms of Covid-19 infection within three days of their arrival in the country can still be tested for free at one of the public health centers throughout the country.

BY ESTHER CHUNG [chung.juhee@joongang.co.kr]