South Korea to require COVID tests for Hong Kong, Macau travellers

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's health authorities said on Tuesday it will impose mandatory COVID-19 tests on travellers from Hong Kong and Macau, after Beijing's decision to lift stringent zero-COVID policies.

Effective Jan. 7, travellers from Hong Kong and Macau would be required to submit a negative result from a PCR test, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency.

The decision comes after South Korea announced it will require travellers from China to take COVID tests before departure and upon arrival in South Korea, joining the United States, Japan and other countries in taking new border measures amid concerns over a new wave of infections and mutations.

(Reporting by Soo-hyang Choi; editing by Christian Schmollinger)