SEOUL • South Korea will exempt some travellers who have received their coronavirus vaccinations overseas from its mandatory two-week quarantine starting July 1, the health authorities said yesterday.

As of May 5, the quarantine exemption has been applicable only to people fully vaccinated in South Korea.

The new policy will apply only to certain people, such as citizens and foreign residents, as well as those arriving in the country to visit family, or for the purposes of business, academics or public interest, said Mr Son Young-rae, an official with the Central Disaster Management Headquarters.

Exempt travellers will need to fill out an application, but they still need to be tested before and after arriving in South Korea. Some travellers from countries with major outbreaks or variants will not be allowed to skip the quarantine, Mr Son said.

South Korea reported 452 more cases as at midnight on Saturday, bringing total cases to 147,874, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The death toll stands at 1,985.

More than 11.8 million people - 23 per cent of the population - have received at least one dose of a vaccine since the jabs were rolled out in late February, according to the KDCA.

South Korea is hoping to expedite travel bubble talks with the likes of Singapore and Taiwan to allow quarantine-free travel for fully vaccinated people. The move is part of a national campaign to encourage mass vaccination.

The Transport Ministry last week said the authorities were pushing to allow people who have had two doses of Covid-19 shots to go on group tours to countries with strong virus control measures and that have been relatively successful in containing the pandemic.

REUTERS