South Korea to ban entry from China

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun announces a set of measures to curb the spread of coronavirus in South Korea, at the government complex in Seoul, Sunday. Yonhap

- S. Korea will ban entry of foreign nationals who visited China's Hubei Province in the past two weeks. - The ban will be effective from Tuesday. - Visa-free entry to Jeju Island has been suspended. - Voluntary quarantine urged to Koreans who visited China's Hubei Province in the past two weeks

South Korea said Sunday it will bar foreigners who've been in China's Hubei Province in the past two weeks from entering the country, in a drastic measure to stem further spread of the new coronavirus here.

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said the ban will take effect on Tuesday.

The measure was reached to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, which broke out in Wuhan, Hubei Province, in December and has since reached South Korea and other nations around the globe.

The United States and Japan are among other countries to have issued a similar entry ban.

So far, South Korea has reported 15 virus cases, with some believed to be human transmission.