Cheong Wa Dae has rejected repeated calls to block the entry of all travelers from China amid a global outbreak of the new coronavirus.
Pressure has been mounting for South Korea to place an entry ban on visitors from the neighboring country as tens of thousands of Chinese students are returning here after winter vacation.
A presidential official said today that a "scientific" approach is needed rather than an emotional one.
The official cited a view among medical and quarantine experts that questions the effectiveness of such measures in containing the infectious disease.
Partial travel restrictions are already in place against those who have stayed in China's Hubei province, the epicenter of the outbreak.■
<Photo: Yonhap News>
