Starting today, people fully vaccinated against COVID-19 will be exempt from mandatory two-week quarantine when arriving from overseas or when they've come in contact with an infected patient.  

The condition of "fully vaccinated" as defined by health authorities refers to people who have received both of their shots in South Korea in at least the previous two weeks. Those who meet the criteria number around 60-thousand as of Wednesday.

To be exempted, one must have a negative PCR test result and display no symptoms. People will still be monitored for 14 days and be required to get tested twice during the period.

The exemption does not apply to arrivals from countries where variant strains are prevalent such as South Africa and Brazil.

South Korea will also work with other countries on systems and agreements to grant the same benefit to arrivals who were vaccinated overseas, under the principle of reciprocity.