South Korea will require negative COVID-19 PCR tests for all arriving travelers, including South Korean nationals, starting February 24 in an effort to prevent the spread of variant strains.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency(KDCA) on Wednesday announced a set of measures to step up entry control to better guard against variants. Previously negative test results were only required for arriving foreign nationals.

So far 80 cases of variant infections have been reported in South Korea.

Additionally, all incoming arrivals will get tested two more times - the first within a day of arrival and the second at the end of the mandatory two-week self-isolation period. Cities, counties and districts must also designate officials to monitor incoming travelers and ensure they strictly observe quarantine.

Authorities will also increase the number of agencies conducting genetic analysis to determine variants and simplify procedures to speed up the process from the current five to seven days to three to four.