South Korea tightens travel restrictions amid new Covid-19 cases

Authorities in South Korea have reintroduced a 10-day entry quarantine rule for all inbound international passengers, including Korean nationals.

South Korea.- Amid a rise in Covid-19 cases in South Korea and five reported cases of the Omicron variant, authorities have decided to reintroduce countermeasures. From December 3 to December 17, a 10-day entry quarantine will be mandatory for foreign visitors and South Korean nationals who enter the country.

According to the announcement of the Korean Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), the new quarantine rules apply to the whole country, including Jeju Island. 

Before the emergence of Omicron, Jeju Island had been working hard to restart the tourism market for foreigners. Experts discussed ideas to help the casino and tourism industries recover at the Jeju International Casino Policy Forum.

At the meeting, Bong Mi Hee, a professor at the Integrated Resort Tourism Research Centre at Inha Technical College, said remote gambling, paid for either by cryptocurrency or credit card, ought to be considered as a plan of action for Jeju casino venues. 

In October, a similar proposal was made by Lee Sang-heon, a member of the National Assembly’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee, who said  South Korea’s foreigner-only casinos should be allowed to introduce online gambling services.

According to GGRAsia, Bong said bitcoin could be a suitable digital payment token for blockchain-based exchanges connected to remote gambling, due to consumer awareness of the digital currency brand. 

The Ministry of Health has reported 5,266 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours. Some 80.1 per cent of South Koreans have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19.