Ministry of Foreign Affairs Issues Level 1 Travel Alert Worldwide

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on the 18th that, as the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) has entered a pandemic situation, it has issued a Level 1 travel alert (Blue Alert · Travel Caution) for all countries and regions where no previous travel alerts had been issued, effective from the 19th.

This is due to the global spread of COVID-19, which has led many countries and regions to implement entry and movement restrictions, increasing uncertainties related to the safety of Korean nationals, as well as heightened concerns about infection among Koreans abroad.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained that this decision also takes into account the domestic quarantine situation, where the Korean government's special entry procedures are being expanded to apply to arrivals from all over the world.

This is the first time the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued travel alerts worldwide. The Ministry urged, "Koreans planning to travel abroad should carefully check the COVID-19 infection status and entry and movement restrictions of their destination countries and regions, and thoroughly reconsider the necessity and timing of their travel." It also requested, "Koreans currently staying overseas should pay close attention to their personal safety to avoid exposure to COVID-19 infection risks."

It added, "We will closely monitor the occurrence of confirmed COVID-19 cases in each country and region and continuously review the need to adjust travel alerts."

The government-operated travel alert system consists of four levels: Blue Alert (Travel Caution), Yellow Alert (Travel Restriction), Red Alert (Evacuation Recommendation), and Black Alert (Travel Ban). Previously, on the 16th, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a Level 2 travel alert (Yellow Alert · Travel Restriction) for 36 countries in Western and Central Europe in response to the COVID-19 spread trend.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.