Coronavirus: South Korea drops quarantine for vaccinated visitors; Southeast Asia’s tourist hubs roll back restrictions

The easing of restrictions for vaccinated travellers comes as South Korea faces its largest Covid-19 surge yet, with more than 400 deaths on Thursday alone

Elsewhere, Thailand reported its highest daily case tally, even as it and other tourist havens across the region look to roll back pandemic restrictions

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Tourists pose for photos at Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul in 2014. South Korea will start allowing vaccinated visitors to enter without quarantine from April 1. Photo: AFP

Published: 2:33pm, 18 Mar 2022

Starting April 1, travellers who have been fully vaccinated overseas and registered their vaccination history with South Korea’s Q-Code website will be able to enter the country without a seven-day quarantine period.

Travellers who have completed a two-dose vaccine series at least 14 days before their trip will be considered fully vaccinated. A one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine will also be accepted.

If more than 180 days have passed since a traveller completed their initial vaccination series, they will need a booster shot to be considered fully vaccinated.

South Korea’s Incheon International Airport. Travellers arriving by plane will need to show proof of a negative PCR coronavirus test. Photo: YNA/dpa

Overseas travellers will receive a QR code through the Q-Code system, which can be scanned at immigration, according to the Korea Tourism Organisation’s website. The Q-Code system will ask for information such as a passport number, departure country, airline, phone number and vaccine records.

Travellers arriving by plane will need to show proof of a negative PCR coronavirus test taken no more than 48 hours before departure. Children under the age of 6 do not need a coronavirus test to enter.

Unvaccinated travellers and all travellers from Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, and Myanmar – regardless of vaccination status – are still required to quarantine.

The easing of restrictions comes as South Korea faces its largest Covid-19 surge yet. The 429 deaths reported on Thursday were nearly 140 more than the previous one-day record set on Tuesday. Fatalities may further rise in coming weeks considering the intervals between infections, hospitalisation and deaths.