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| Incheon International Airport. |
South Korea's foreign ministry on Thursday issued a travel alert for Wuhan in central China amid stepped-up efforts to prevent the spread of a new coronavirus that has originated from the city.
The ministry applied the alert level of "restraint" to Wuhan, the third highest in the four-tier travel warning system, while issuing the lowest alert level of "caution" for other areas in China's Hubei Province.
"This alert measure has been taken in consideration of an increase in confirmed cases of the new coronavirus that first occurred in Wuhan in December and the Chinese authorities' steps such as stopping the operation of public transportation in the city," the ministry said in a press release.
The ministry also urged South Korean citizens currently in Wuhan to take extra care to ensure their health and safety.
South Korea reported its first confirmed case of the coronavirus on Monday when a Chinese resident who arrived at Incheon International Airport, the country's main gateway, on Sunday tested positive for the virus. (Yonhap)
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