South Korea To Scrap COVID-19 Tests For Travel Arrivals

South Korea is set to scrap predeparture COVID-19 tests for arrivals.

Travellers to the country will no longer need to present a negative coronavirus test result starting on Saturday, the Yonhap news agency reported on Wednesday.

However, travellers will still need to take a PCR test within 24 hours of arriving in the country.

The change comes after a government advisory committee recommended ending mandatory predeparture PCR tests for inbound travellers.

South Korea lifted quarantine requirements for vaccinated tourists in April and dropped quarantine for all arrivals regardless of vaccination status in July.

Tourists have been slow to return, however, with passenger traffic at main gateway Incheon Airport in July, reaching less than one-quarter of pre-pandemic levels.

The country has reported some of the highest numbers of COVID-19 cases in the world in recent weeks despite high vaccination rates and widespread mask-wearing, although the vast majority of infections have been mild.

Daily cases have hovered at about 100,000 amid the spread of highly transmissible Omicron sub-variants.