The government will cease operation of state-run treatment facilities for foreigners infected with COVID-19 in the country on short-term visits at the end of November.

The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters said on Friday that the last remaining facility near Incheon International Airport for patients with no or minor symptoms will close after November 30.

Authorities said the decision reflects a noticeable decline in the number of foreign patients as PCR tests are no longer required upon entry and other eased measures.

The bed occupancy rate at the facility, which stood at 16-point-four percent in August, dropped to five-point-two percent in October before plummeting to one-point-seven percent so far this month.

Starting November 23, when admittance to the facility will no longer be possible, municipal governments who are responsible for their care will inform infected foreign patients about hotels and other lodging facilities where self-isolation can be completed.

The government has spent over 763 billion won since March 2020 to run a total of 324 facilities that treated and provided quarantine to some 410-thousand foreign patients.