Hong Kong bans travellers from South Korea amid growing coronavirus outbreak, advises against trips to country
- City residents, while exempt from ban, must quarantine for 14 days if they have been in the country’s two most infected areas
- Multiple tour companies cancel tours through end of March, scuppering travel plans for 3,200 people
Travellers from South Korea who are not Hong Kong residents will be banned from entering the city from Tuesday, while the Security Bureau has warned Hongkongers to avoid the destination in light of the worsening coronavirus outbreak in the country.
“From 6am on Tuesday, non-Hong Kong residents travelling from Korea and those who have been to the country in the past 14 days will be barred from entering Hong Kong,” Secretary for Security John Lee Ka-chiu said at a press briefing on Monday night.
Passengers aboard the four flights returning before the ban goes into effect will undergo a health assessment by Port Health authorities if they have been in South Korea’s most infected areas – the city of Daegu and surrounding North Gyeongsang province.
Those showing Covid-19 symptoms, including fever and cough, would sent to quarantine camp, while those with no visible symptoms would be placed under medical surveillance, Secretary for Health Sophia Chan Shiu-Chee said.
“The situation in South Korea now shows a pattern of community outbreak, so the Hong Kong government has decided to take stronger measures,” she said.