China's state-run Global Times reported heavily on the Korean government's decision to 'exempt self-quarantine when entering Korea for vaccinated persons'.
"It reflects South Korea's trust in Chinese vaccines," he said.
Earlier, on the 13th, the Korean government announced a plan to reform the immigration management system for those who have completed overseas vaccinations.
From the 1st of next month, those who have completed the COVID-19 vaccination abroad will be exempted from quarantine for two weeks.
However, it was limited to those who entered Korea two weeks after inoculating all the recommended number of vaccines in the same country, and also limited to those approved by the World Health Organization (WHO) urgently.
Seven vaccines have been urgently approved by the WHO so far: Pfizer, Janssen, Moderna, AstraZeneca, and Chinese vaccines Sinopharm and Sinovac.
The government has added a new purpose for visiting immediate family, while limiting the exemption from quarantine for important business purposes, academic and public interest purposes, humanitarian purposes, and overseas business trips, not for tourism purposes.
Even those who have been vaccinated will not be exempt from quarantine if they enter from 13 countries where the mutant virus is prevalent, such as South Africa and Brazil.
Chinese media "Korea is the first country to exempt quarantine for Chinese-made vaccines"
The government cited 'the issue of equity between domestic and overseas vaccinations' as the basis for expanding quarantine exemptions. Since May 5, if domestic and foreign nationals who have been vaccinated in Korea after leaving the country are exempt from quarantine, they are exempted from quarantine, but if a person who has received a vaccine from overseas, such as an overseas citizen or international student, enters Korea The government explained that there have been continuous requests to ease entry procedures for quarantine exemptions not being applied. It also means that there are so many overseas Koreans and international students who are unable to enter Korea due to quarantine even after being vaccinated abroad.
However, the issue of equity still persists. Currently, vaccines available in Korea include Pfizer, Janssen, and AstraZeneca. Sinopharm and Sinovac vaccines made in China have not been introduced to Korea. Therefore, in a situation where it is impossible to vaccinate Chinese-made vaccines in Korea, Korea first took measures to exempt those who received Chinese-made vaccines abroad.
China's state-run Global Times welcomed this move. "Korea has become the first country to exempt quarantine for those vaccinated from China," the report said. It was also referred to as 'good progress' for vaccine mutual certification. An immunologist, who requested anonymity, told the Global Times, "If this policy is implemented well in Korea, China can also refer to it when adjusting its immigration control measures." If the quarantine situation does not worsen after the quarantine exemption measures in Korea, it is read that China can review the quarantine exemption at that time.
"China shows no signs of exemption from quarantine... Rather, quarantine may increase"
So, when will China start to exempt from quarantine?
In conclusion, there is still a long way to go.
An official from the Korean Embassy in China said, "China has proposed mutual certification of vaccines and is currently under review."
It is said that there has been a proposal from the Chinese side to guarantee mutual free travel for vaccinated persons in China and South Korea, but an agreement has not yet been reached.
Here, 'free travel' includes 'visa issuance' and 'entry permit', but 'isolation exemption' is separate.
In other words, mutual authentication will facilitate visa issuance and entry permit for vaccinated persons, but China's position is that they must be quarantined when they come to China.
Furthermore, China has said that it will only recognize those who have been vaccinated in China.
The idea is that vaccines from other countries are unreliable, but there is virtually no change in the current situation since Korea cannot vaccinate Chinese-made vaccines.
Rather, the real purpose of mutual certification is taken to mean that "Korea should also introduce a Chinese vaccine as soon as possible."
In short, from the 1st of next month, quarantine will be exempted when vaccinated persons enter Korea, but they still have to be quarantined when they enter China.
People who go to Korea from China and then return to China must also be quarantined.
The current mandatory quarantine in China is three weeks.
There are also prospects that China's quarantine measures could be strengthened. Next month, the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party, and the Beijing Winter Olympics in February next year, we have no choice but to be very careful for the time being. In addition, as the number of COVID-19 patients is re-spreading recently in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China, there are signs that quarantine measures will be strengthened. It is reported that there are cases of confirmed cases among those who entered China after receiving the vaccine. The Global Times said, "Immunologists say that more observation and discussion are necessary before adjusting the entry policy given the current spread of COVID-19 in Guangzhou and other places." . Peng Duo-jia, president of the China Vaccine Industry Association, said, "No vaccine can 100% prevent COVID-19," and predicted that "China will implement a strict quarantine policy for a long time."
Even if the COVID-19 situation in China calms down, the observation that it will be difficult to exempt from quarantine for the time being is possible, although it is possible to shorten the quarantine period. Of course, we have to consider equity with other countries, but some are pointing out that the Korean government may have disarmed too soon without China's quarantine exemption measures or minimum consultations in this regard.