EASED ARRIVAL RESTRICTIONS

[Anchor Lead]

The COVID-19 rules for foreign arrivals have been eased in Korea ahead of the summer vacation season. The operation of quarantine centers and makeshift testing stations has been halted. The health care system is also getting back to "business as usual."

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COVID-19 rules for those arriving in South Korea from overseas have been eased ahead of the summer vacation season. Up until May 31, foreign arrivals were required to take a PCR test within one day upon arrival, and a rapid antigen test within six or seven days. From June 1 PCR tests can be taken within three days. Taking a rapid antigen test six or seven days later which was once compulsory is now a recommended option. The entry procedure for minors has also been simplified.

[Soundbite] Lee Sang-won(Central Disease Control HQs) : "Quarantine exemptions provided to children 6 and younger arriving in Korea with fully vaccinated guardians have been expanded to children 12 and younger."

In April, some 215,000 Koreans traveled abroad. That's less than 10 percent of the 2.2 million travelers recorded in 2019 before the pandemic, but around a three fold on-year increase. The number of foreign tourists who arrived in Korea during the same period surged by more than 80 percent. Visa-free entries were resumed at Jeju and Yangyang international airports on Wednesday. They were suspended due to the pandemic two years and four months ago. With the daily COVID-19 tally declining, the health care system is also getting back to business as usual. With more coronavirus patients being treated at home and the testing system at community clinics having been stabilized, the operation of quarantine centers and makeshift testing stations was halted from Wednesday. Following their closures, authorities plan to provide emergency care services and separate quarantine facilities to the housing-vulnerable.