Government Issues 'Travel Advisory' for All Regions of China Including Hong Kong and Macao

Hubei Province Maintains Existing Level 3 'Withdrawal Recommendation'

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] On the 28th, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a Level 2 travel alert "Travel Caution" for all regions of China, including Hong Kong and Makio. Hubei Province maintained the Level 3 "Evacuation Recommendation" issued on the 25th. Taiwan was excluded.

This alert was issued in response to the spread of the novel coronavirus originating in Wuhan City, China, to the entire country. In Wuhan City, the number of confirmed cases and deaths is rapidly increasing, and due to the Chinese government's strengthened measures to prevent the spread of the epidemic, restrictions on movement within China are gradually intensifying. The travel alert levels consist of four stages: Level 1 Travel Advisory "Blue Alert," Level 2 Travel Caution "Yellow Alert," Level 3 Evacuation Recommendation "Red Alert," and Level 4 Travel Ban "Black Alert."

President Moon Jae-in visited the National Medical Center, a government-designated inpatient treatment facility, on the morning of the same day to inspect the response system for the "Novel Coronavirus Infection (Wuhan Pneumonia)."

President Moon encouraged the medical staff at the National Medical Center by visiting the negative pressure ward for patients infected with the novel coronavirus. Earlier, the National Medical Center installed the country's first mobile CT room in preparation for an increase in infectious disease patients. Separately, the Blue House is operating a daily monitoring task force for the novel coronavirus response.

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun plans to hold a meeting with relevant ministers in the afternoon to discuss the schedule for deploying charter flights to evacuate Korean nationals remaining in Wuhan City. The deployment of charter flights is expected to begin as early as the 30th. The government plans to operate about 2 to 3 charter flights to evacuate approximately 500 Korean nationals, including residents and students.

Previously, the Korean Consulate General in Wuhan accepted applications via email for boarding the charter flight from Korean nationals until 11:55 PM on the 27th through its website. Chinese nationals are not allowed to board the charter flights. Individuals exhibiting suspicious symptoms such as a fever above 37.5 degrees Celsius, vomiting, coughing, sore throat, or difficulty breathing are also prohibited from boarding. Nearly 700 overseas Koreans expressed their intention to board as a result of the application process.

The Chinese government has activated the highest level (Level 1) of its emergency response system (comprising Levels 1 to 4) to respond to this sudden social issue and announced follow-up measures including suspension of intercity bus operations and group tours.

An official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained, "Accordingly, Korean nationals staying in the Chinese region are requested to pay special attention to their personal safety, and those planning to travel to the area are advised to carefully reconsider the necessity of their travel."

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will continue to closely monitor the health situation, including the spread of infectious diseases and damages in the Chinese region, and will continuously review the need for additional adjustments to travel alerts.