S. Korea resumes issuing visas for China as COVID-19 cases drop

South Korea will restart issuing short-term visas for travelers from China on Saturday, ending a monthlong suspension prompted by a rise in COVID-19 infections in China. Beijing had immediately retaliated with the same suspension, calling it a “countermeasure” and urging Seoul to lift its restrictions first.

Kim Sung-ho, the vice interior minister in charge of disaster and safety management, said Friday that the latest shift in policy came in light of the fact that fewer arrivals from China tested positive for COVID-19. Since the stricter entry rules were enforced on Jan. 2, the proportion of positive COVID-19 cases among entrants from China fell from a high of 30 percent to 1.4 percent last week.

Easing such rules, which were supposed to be in effect until the end of this month, was largely expected, as officials said in private that the infection tally had been less threatening than projected over time. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo last week hinted at an earlier relaxation if the COVID-19 situation in China becomes “manageable.”

The pandemic situation in Korea, Kim added, was less alarming than before, as the country for some has been on a “continuous downward trend” in terms of COVID-19 cases. Daily infections reached 13,504 Thursday midnight, the lowest in 32 weeks for Thursday.

Kim, however, noted that reinfections are steadily rising and urged those aged 60 and older to get another vaccine shot because they are likely to suffer more from the pandemic. In late January, Korea loosened its face mask mandates for most public places. But 7 in 10 Koreans still prefer wearing their masks, according to a Gallup Korea poll of 1,001 adults conducted earlier this month.