South Korea to waive Covid-19 quarantine for some travelers vaccinated overseas

Story by Reuters

South Korea will exempt some travelers who have received their Covid-19 vaccine shots overseas from its mandatory two-week quarantine, health authorities said on Sunday, June 13.

As of May 5, the quarantine exemption was only applicable to people fully vaccinated against Covid-19 in South Korea. The new rules will go into effect on July 1.

The new policy will apply only to certain people such as citizens and foreign residents, as well as those coming to visit family, or for the purpose of business, academics or public interest, said Son Young-rae, an official with the Central Disaster Management Headquarters.

Exempt travelers must have gotten one of the vaccines approved by the World Health Organization. They will need to fill out an application, and still need to be tested before and after arriving in South Korea. Some travelers from countries with major outbreaks or variants will not be allowed to skip the quarantine, he added.

South Korea reported 399 more cases on Sunday, bringing the country’s total infections to 148,273, said the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).

The death toll in the country stands at 1,988.

More than 11.8 million people — 23% of the country’s population — have received at least one dose of a vaccine, according to the KDCA.