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Travelers wait in line for post-arrival COVID-19 screening at Incheon International Airport on Aug. 30. (Yonhap)

As of Saturday, Sept. 3, people entering Korea from overseas will no longer have to receive a COVID-19 test before departure. In addition, free PCR tests will be available to those who seek them over the Chuseok holiday (Sept. 9-12 this year) at nine temporary screening centers that are being set up at expressway rest areas.

Korea seems likely to begin inoculating people in the high-risk group, including those aged 60 and above, in October with an updated vaccine that is effective against the BA.5 variant of the virus.

The COVID-19 measures for the Chuseok holiday and the winter vaccination plan published by Korea’s Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters on Wednesday are summarized below in Q&A format.

A: Currently, people entering Korea from overseas are required to take a PCR test within 48 hours or a professionally administered rapid antigen test within 24 hours of boarding a plane or ship, and then to present a negative result while passing through quarantine. But as of Saturday, travelers will be allowed to enter the country without submitting test results. The requirement to take a PCR test within 24 hours following arrival will remain in place, however.

A: That decision takes into account the hardship imposed on people who learn they are infected with COVID-19 during pre-arrival testing and have to extend their stay in another country. Other contributing factors are that people still have to be tested after entering the country and that countries around the world are easing their immigration procedures. Among the 38 member states of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Korea and Japan are the only countries that require a COVID-19 test before entry, and even Japan has decided not to require pre-arrival tests for people who are fully vaccinated and boosted. The government decided to get rid of the pre-arrival test requirement before Chuseok in consideration of Koreans who are planning to return home during the holiday.

A: Anyone can get a free PCR test at the temporary screening centers that will be set up at nine locations on Korea’s expressways during the extended holiday, from Sept. 9 to Sept. 12. But at other screening centers, PCR tests are only available to people in priority categories — those aged 60 and above, those who test positive on a home kit, those who come into close contact with infected individuals, and those arriving from overseas — as is the case under the current rules.

A: Public health centers can prescribe oral antivirals in some areas with limited medical resources during the extended holiday. The medical counseling center and government information center will also be open during the holiday and available to provide counseling for COVID-19 patients staying at home. A total of 5,300 one-stop clinics will be open during the holiday, and pharmacies will be on a rotation to ensure that at least one per city, county or municipal district will be able to fill out prescriptions for oral antivirals. Individuals infected with COVID-19 can find the contact information for the medical counseling center and the government information center in the text message they receive upon being confirmed to have COVID-19 as well as on the website of their city, county, or municipal district.

A: The government expects to be able to start inoculating people with the updated COVID-19 vaccine between October and December of this year. The first cohort to receive the updated vaccine will be those in the high-risk group, including residents of nursing homes and other facilities vulnerable to infection, the immunocompromised, and those aged 60 or above. The second cohort will be those in their 50s, those with underlying conditions, public health and medical workers, and residents of group homes. The government plans to eventually make the vaccine available on a voluntary basis to those aged 18-49 without underlying conditions. The updated vaccines can be administered 4-6 months after individuals have received their last shot or tested positive for the virus.

A: The updated vaccines that will be provided to Koreans in the next few months of the year were developed by Moderna and Pfizer to block BA.1, a subvariant of the Omicron strain of COVID-19. An analysis by Korea’s disease control authorities found that the neutralizing antibody levels of Moderna’s updated vaccine (probably the first to become available) are 69% higher than the original vaccine even for the BA.4 and BA.5 variants, while the levels of Pfizer’s upgraded vaccine are 160% higher. Both drugmakers are also developing vaccines that target BA.4 and BA.5.

By Park June-yong, staff reporter; Kwon Ji-dam, staff reporter

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