MANILA, Philippines — Visa-free travel to Jeju island in South Korea has
been temporarily cancelled amid the deadly novel coronavirus (2019-
nCoV) outbreak, the Bureau of Immigration said Friday.
In a release, Port Operations Divisions chief Grifton Medina said the Korean Embassy in Manila informed the bureau of the new travel ban policy on Monday that it was temporarily suspending the visa-free entry to the South Korean island.
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The temporary suspension was announced a day after the Philippine government announced its first fatality
due to the deadly virus. It was also the first death
outside China, ground zero of the 2019-
nCoV.
Medina said that
immigration officers have already been instructed to not allow Filipinos bound for Jeju to depart “unless
the passenger was issued a visa by the Korean embassy.”
Immigration said that the suspension of the visa-free privileges for travelers bound to Jeju
does not only cover Filipino travelers.
Jeju Tourism Organization said in a Facebook post that the South Korean island province will now require travel visas from 61 other countries
as well.
“
This temporary measure is aimed at stopping any new coronavirus infections in the province and mainland, by strengthening entry procedures,” the post read.
The latest figures post that there are 24 confirmed cases of the 2019-
nCoV in South Korea.
There are 31,161 people infected with the virus in China, with 636 deaths.