S. Korea to lift restrictions on arrivals from China's Hubei province

SEOUL - South Korea planned to lift restrictions on arrivals from Central China's Hubei province as no new confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been reported recently in the province, the health authorities said Friday.

South Korean Vice Health Minister Kim Gang-lip told a press briefing that the country will lift restrictions on arrivals from Hubei province and retract other visa-related measures beginning on Aug 10.

Kim noted that the restrictions will be lifted considering that the province recently reported no new COVID-19 cases and that the Chinese government started Wednesday to accept visa applications from South Koreans.

Since Feb 4, South Korea has imposed entry ban on all foreigners who visited the Hubei province in the preceding two weeks and on the holders of visas issued by the provincial authorities.

No new confirmed, asymptomatic or suspected cases of COVID-19 were reported in the Hubei province Thursday.

According to the South Korean health authorities, the Chinese government resumed the issuance of visas from Aug 5 for South Korean students and workers and those with valid residence permits who tested negative for COVID-19.

In the latest tally, South Korea reported 20 more COVID-19 cases for the past 24 hours, raising the total number of infections to 14,519.