Kang Seung-woo is the Business Desk editor at The Korea Times. Prior to this position, he covered politics, national affairs, finance and sports.
US and other countries heighten vigilance against Korea amid virus
A Korean airplane which arrived from South Korea is pictured after landing at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday. Israel refused to allow some 200 non-Israelis to disembark from a plane which arrived from Korea as part of measures against the new coronavirus. / AFP-Yonhap
By Kang Seung-woo
By Kang Seung-woo
As coronavirus infections have begun to rise rapidly here, some countries, including the United States, have issued recommendations to be cautious when considering travel to Korea.
The U.S. State Department raised its alert level for travel to Korea to Level 2 on a four-level scale, Saturday, urging its citizens to exercise “increased caution” when traveling to the country. Previously, it was at Level 1 that called on citizens to exercise “normal precautions,” while Levels 3 and 4 mean “reconsider travel” and “do not travel,” respectively.
“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,” it said in a statement.
“Because older adults and those with chronic medical conditions may be at higher risk for severe disease, people in these groups should discuss travel with a healthcare provider and consider postponing nonessential travel. If suspected to have coronavirus in South Korea, you may face travel delays, quarantine, and extremely expensive medical costs.”
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also elevated its alert to Level 2, which urges people to practice “enhanced precautions” in Korea.
The U.S. has issued the same advisories for Japan.
In response, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Sunday that the upgraded alert level does not mean the U.S. has banned its citizens from traveling to Korea and Japan, saying there are more than 70 countries labeled with the Level 2 travel advisory, including Germany, Britain and France.
“The U.S. measure does not affect Koreans' traveling to the U.S. at all,” it said in a press release.
Taiwan also elevated its alert level for Korea and Japan to Level 2 on a three-category travel alert system Saturday, which calls on Taiwanese to take personal infection prevention measures.
“Considering the frequent social exchanges and travel between Taiwan and the two countries, the Central Epidemic Command Center announced that the travel notice levels for South Korea and Japan have been raised to Level 2: Alert, meaning the public is advised to practice enhanced precautions,” it said in a press statement.
Some countries are forbidding Korean nationals from entering their territories or closely monitoring them after their arrival despite having no symptoms.
Israel blocked some 150 Koreans from entry, according to the Jerusalem Post, Saturday, after nine Korean tourists who had stayed there last week tested positive for the virus after returning home.
“Nearly 200 foreign nationals were refused entry at Tel Aviv's Ben-Gurion Airport on Saturday evening, after arriving onboard Korean Air KE957 from Incheon International Airport,” the newspaper reported. “An additional 1,000 tourists from Korea currently traveling in Israel have been instructed to avoid public places, and instead remain in isolation in their hotels.”
The foreign ministry here said those Koreans denied entry at the airport returned home on the same flight Sunday.
“We expressed a strong protest to the Israeli government for imposing the ban without prior notice that resulted in inconvenience to Koreans who were already en route to the country on the flight. We asked it to prevent such an incident from recurring,” the ministry said in a statement.
Turkmenistan is quarantining Koreans who arrive there in hospital, irrespective of symptoms, while Kazakhstan plans to keep Koreans and citizens from coronavirus-hit countries under residence quarantine for 24 days.