While the government has strengthened COVID-19 quarantine against inbound travelers from China, Chinese netizens have complained, saying, "We should boycott Korea." They are complaining when simple tourists are virtually blocked from entering the country, such as restrictions on short-term visa issuance and suspension of flights.
Chinese media, portal sites Baidu and SNS are flooded with Chinese anger over Korean quarantine policies. The COVID-19 mutation can occur anywhere in the world, and most point out that it is not right to regulate only the entry of Chinese people.
China's online media Hwaseong Bangjin criticized in a commentary, saying, "The names of COVID-19 variants 'Alpha' and 'Delta' are all Western, but why do you hold only China responsible?"
Another media outlet, Hangzhou Network, said, "It is hypocritical for some countries to restrict Chinese entry," and protested, "Why is China the only major quarantine target when most countries around the world ease quarantine measures?"
On Weibo (Chinese version of Twitter), the "NO Korea" movement is spreading, saying, "I will not buy or go." They argued, "If Korea does not welcome Chinese tourists, we should not travel to Korea."
One netizen told Weibo, "In Korea, 29 people died of COVID-19 yesterday. The number of critically ill patients is close to 700. On the other hand, China claimed that there was no death yesterday.
China currently announced that the number of deaths believed to be caused by COVID-19 infection has soared, but only confirmed patients who died of pneumonia and respiratory failure have been classified as COVID-19 deaths, and the number of new deaths per day is "0."
Meanwhile, as the number of confirmed cases in China, which has lifted the quarantine latch, has soared, countries around the world, including the United States and Japan, are strengthening quarantine against arrivals from China. The South Korean government has also decided to restrict the issuance of short-term visas except for diplomatic and public affairs, essential companies, and humanitarian reasons by the end of next month. In addition, if you enter from China by the end of February next year, COVID-19 testing will be mandatory before and after entering the country, and entry will be allowed only if it is confirmed negative.
Sixty-one of the inbound travelers from China were confirmed to have entered Korea at Incheon International Airport on the 2nd, when COVID-19 PCR tests were mandatory after entering the country. The positive rate is 19.7%, which means that one in five people has been confirmed.
