South Korean health authorities have said that quarantine measures for incoming travelers from China were enhanced earlier this month with priority placed on public health and safety.

At a press briefing on Wednesday, Lim Sook-young, a senior official at the Central Disease Control Headquarters, said the reinforced measures are objective and based on scientific grounds.

This comes after Beijing suspended the issuance of short-term visas for South Korean nationals as a retaliatory step the previous day.

In the wake of a COVID-19 resurgence in China, travelers from the country have been required since January 2 to get tested before and after entry, while short-term visa issuance has been suspended in most cases.

The official stressed that the measures were inevitable due to concerns about new variants and rising risks and uncertainties after China halted announcements of pandemic data.