Amid the resurgence of COVID-19, the government will step up quarantine management at airports and increase personnel at tourist destinations nationwide as the country faces the first summer season without social distancing since the start of the pandemic.

Interior and safety minister Lee Sang-min chaired a pandemic response meeting on Friday to discuss measures ensuring a safe travel environment.

Additional quarantine personnel will be deployed to Incheon International Airport and seven provincial airports, with a combined 140-member workforce assisting passengers with various quarantine-related processes.

A total of 25-hundred safety officials, including roughly 500 new workers, will also be dispatched to key tourist attractions to help with antivirus measures such as mask wearing, distancing, disinfection and ventilation.

This summer is the first vacation season since the outdoor mask mandate and distancing rules were lifted.

In contrast to the past summer seasons when people were urged to avoid traveling when infections increased, this year the government is focused on creating a safe environment for travel while hoping to refrain from enacting strict rules that may harm the tourism industry.