Vietnam urges passengers to test for Covid before entry to S Korea

By Doan Loan August 25, 2022 | 03:00 am PT

People wearing face masks walk at Incheon International Airport in Incheon, South Korea, March 25, 2022. Photo by Reuters/ Heo Ran

The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam asked passengers to obtain a negative Covid test result before arriving in South Korea to avoid being denied entry.

According to the latest entry rules from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, all foreigners entering South Korea must present a negative Covid certificate using the RT-PCR method within 48 hours before departure or 24 hours via rapid antigen tests.

Eased Covid-19 entry rules and a sharp rise in summer travelers led to record numbers of infections from overseas, Korea Herald reported.

The Northeast Asian country recorded 139,883 new Covid cases on Aug. 24, 456 of them imported, bringing the total infections to over 22 million.

South Korea reopened international tourism from June 1 and resumed issuance of short-term visas and e-visas to Vietnamese tourists.

Vietnam resumed commercial flights to South Korea since January this year.

South Korea had become a favorite tourist destination for Vietnamese before the pandemic.

In 2019 over 550,000 visited the country.