South Korea had already banned short-term foreign travelers arriving from eight southern African countries.
South Korea broke its daily record for coronavirus infections for the second day in a row on Thursday with more than 5,200 new cases, as pressure mounted on the health care system battling rising hospitalizations and deaths.
The rapid delta-driven spread comes amid the emergence of the new Omicron variant, which is seen as potentially more contagious than previous strains of the virus, and has fueled concerns about prolonged pandemic suffering. Is.
South Korea on Wednesday night confirmed its first five Omicron cases arriving from Nigeria, prompting the government to tighten its border controls. The country will require all travelers arriving from abroad in the next two weeks to quarantine for at least 10 days, regardless of their nationality or vaccination status.
South Korea had already banned short-term foreign travelers arriving from eight southern African countries, including South Africa, from Sunday and has now extended the same rules to foreigners arriving from Nigeria.
While the alarm over Omicron has forced governments around the world to tighten border controls, scientists say it is not yet clear whether the variant is more contagious or dangerous than previous strains of the virus, including Delta which has devastated South Korea in recent weeks.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said more than 4,100 of the 5,266 new coronavirus cases came from the capital Seoul and its surrounding metropolitan area, where officials say 90% of the intensive care units designated for COVID-19 previously Already in possession.
A record 733 virus patients are in critical or critical condition, while the death toll in the country now stands at 3,705 after 47 patients died in the last 24 hours. Health experts have called on the government to reimpose strict social distancing rules eased in November to bolster the economy, raising concerns that hospital systems could collapse.
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