Foreign travelers coming from or through China's Hubei province will be denied entry into South Korea as part of expanded measures to prevent further spread of the novel coronavirus.
The entry ban took effect at midnight Tuesday and applies to all non-Koreans who have stayed or traveled to the Chinese province where the new coronavirus originated over the past 14 days.
The government is employing a three-phased screening system to filter out foreign travelers from Hubei, first at the ticketing stage and then at the entry and post-entry stages.
Those who are found to have presented false information regarding whether they have been to Hubei, past travel information and health condition will be deported.
The government said Chinese travelers who try to enter with a passport issued by Hubei province will be selectively allowed into the country, while Korean visas approved by the South Korean Consulate General in Wuhan will be temporarily rendered ineffective.
Meanwhile, the government has put automatic immigration check systems for foreigners and the visa-free program for Chinese traveling to Jeju Island on indefinite hold and may consider further border control measures.■
<Photo: Yonhap News>
