[코로나19] Due to the spread of Omicron mutation, entry bans from 11 countries, including South Africa, have been extended by 4 weeks

The government has decided to extend quarantine countermeasures, such as 10-day quarantine for all overseas arrivals, for an additional four weeks due to concerns about the global spread of Omicron, a new mutant of COVID-19.

The Central Quarantine Countermeasures Headquarters announced on the 29th that it would extend the measures to strengthen the management of overseas inflows to block the inflow of Omicron from the 7th of next month to the 3rd of February next year.

This measure is in accordance with the 76th meeting of relevant ministries to assess the situation of overseas inflows on the 27th and the 5th meeting of the task force (TF) for responding to new mutations on the 28th.

The current measures were originally scheduled to end on the 6th of next month, but the government said that the decision was made taking into account the possibility of a rapid increase in overseas inflows during the Lunar New Year holiday, as a result of analysis of the increase in the number of imported Omicron confirmed cases and the risk level at home and abroad.

In addition, quarantine authorities will also temporarily suspend new sales of direct flights from Singapore to Korea from 00:00 on the 20th to 24:00 on the 20th of next month to minimize the influx of Omicron mutations. However, the quarantine exemption for those who boarded an airplane with an already booked ticket and came to Korea from Singapore will be maintained.

The government will change the application standard for negative confirmation of PCR (gene amplification test) from the issuance date to the test date. However, in order to minimize confusion on site, a grace period of 7 days is granted and will be applied from the 13th of next month.

Meanwhile, PCR reagents for rapid confirmation of Omicron mutation, which can confirm whether Omicron mutation is present within 3 to 4 hours after confirmation, are expected to be distributed to local governments across the country on the same day and will be used from the 30th.