S.Korea to resume short-term visa issuance for travelers from China

Seoul, Feb 10 South Korea will resume issuing short-term visas for travelers from China this weekend, a government official said here on Friday.

The government made the decision to restart issuing visas Saturday as China's Covid-19 infection wave has peaked and begun to subside, Kim Seong-ho, the Interior Ministry official, said during a meeting.

On January 2, South Korea tightened curbs on travelers from China amid a surge in Covid-19 infections in the neighbouring nation, halting the issuance of short-term visas from its diplomatic missions in China and requiring arrivals from China to undergo a coronavirus test before and after their arrival, reports Yonhap News Agency.

The government will review gradually easing such Covid-19 restrictions for those coming from China after comprehensively assessing future virus situations, Kim noted.

The rate of Covid-19-positive people among arrivals from China stood at 1.1 per cent last week, down sharply from a peak of over 30 per cent previously, according to health officials.

In South Korea, the daily new virus tally came down to the 13,000 range on Friday, the lowest figure for a Friday in 32 weeks, the Ministry official also said, adding that "the downward virus curve has continued on despite the lifting of the indoor mask mandate on January 30".

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