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Foreign Ministry issues South Korea travel advisory amid COVID-19 fears
The ministry has emphasized avoiding travel to Daegu and Gyeongsang Bukdo, the two regions with the highest number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in South Korea. The South Korean government has declared them “Special Care Zones”.
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Indonesia’s Foreign Ministry has released a travel advisory for South Korea on its official website, safetravel.id, amid concerns over the novel coronavirus outbreak. (Shutterstock/Africa Studio)
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ndonesia’s Foreign Ministry has issued a travel advisory for South Korea on its official website, safetravel.id, amid concerns over the novel coronavirus outbreak.
The ministry has emphasized avoiding travel to Daegu and Gyeongsang Bukdo, the two regions with the highest number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in South Korea. The South Korean government has declared them “Special Care Zones”.
“Considering the outbreak of COVID-19 in South Korea, we urge those of you who are and/or will be traveling to South Korea to increase caution and not to travel specifically to the Daegu and Gyeongsang Bukdo regions,” declared the travel advisory, which was posted on Sunday.
“We also urge you to always have increased awareness, maintain physical and psychological stamina, wear masks while doing outdoor activities, wash your hands with soap regularly, eat well-cooked meat, reduce interaction in public and continue to monitor information conveyed by the Indonesian Embassy in Seoul and by local authorities.”
The advisory added that those experiencing problems in South Korea could contact the Indonesian Embassy’s hotline at +821053942546.
According to data from the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), there was a drastic increase in the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in South Korea between Feb. 19 and Feb 23.
As of Feb. 23, 602 COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in South Korea. Five people have died, 18 have recovered and 579 are being treated in hospitals.
Other countries, including the United States, have also issued travel advisories for South Korea.
The United States issued a level 2 travel advisory for South Korea on Saturday. Visitors were asked to “exercise increased caution”, according to the travel.state.gov website, but the US government has yet to issue a “do not travel” advisory.
“Many cases of COVID-19 have been associated with travel to or from mainland China or close contact with a travel-related case, but sustained community spread has been reported in South Korea. Sustained community spread means that people in South Korea have been infected with the virus, but how or where they became infected is not known, and the spread is ongoing,” the advisory says.
As of Sunday, 13 countries have banned or restricted entry of South Koreans, based on the world.kbs.co.kr report. (ydp)
