The Covid-19 positive rate for short-term foreign entrants from China remained in single digits for the sixth continuous day.
According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters on Thursday, 347 short-term foreign residents among the 2,396 people who arrived from China and entered Incheon International Airport on Wednesday were subject to a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests at the airport inspection center, and 20 of tested positive for the virus. The positive rate was 5.8 percent.
To prevent the rapid spread of Covid-19 in China from affecting Korea, the government has made it mandatory for travelers from China to undergo a PCR test after entering the country from Jan. 2. Short-term residents are tested at the airport inspection center, and long-term residents and Koreans are tested at the local public health center.
From Jan. 2 to Wednesday, the cumulative number of entrants from China was 25,126, of which 4,978 foreigners were a short-term stay. The cumulative Covid-19 positive rate for entrants from China was 12.7 percent, or 634 people.
While the positive rate for short-term residents shot up to over 30 percent level during the first few days, the positive rate has been decreasing since the government additionally implemented mandatory entry inspection before arriving in Korea from Jan. 5.
Meanwhile, Korea’s short-term visa restriction against China may be extended as a government’s top quarantine official expressed concerns about the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday in China.
“It is difficult to accurately judge the Covid-19 situation in China now,” said Im Sook-young, a senior official at the Central Disease Control Headquarters. “There are also concerns that a large-scale population movement during the Lunar New Year period will accelerate the spread of the virus to small and medium-sized cities or rural areas in China.”
Therefore, the government will closely watch the situation during the Lunar New Year, Im added.
On Thursday, Korea added 29.816 new Covid-19 infections, including 63 cases from abroad, bringing the total caseload to 29,927,958, according to the KDCA.
The nation also reported 47 more Covid-19 deaths, raising the death toll to 33,104. The number of critically ill patients reached 465, down 25 from the previous day.