DFA: No travel ban yet in S. Korea amid MERS-CoV outbreak

Hospital workers, right, wear masks as a precaution against Middle East Respiratory Syndrome virus as they talk with visitors at Chonnam University Hospital in Gwangju, South Korea, Monday, June 8, 2015. South Korea on Monday reported its sixth death from MERS as authorities were bolstering measures to stem the spread of the virus that has left dozens of people infected. AP

THE Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) will not yet issue a travel ban for Filipinos to travel to South Korea despite the outbreak of the deadly Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Corona virus (MERS-CoV) there.

In a press briefing on Monday, DFA Spokesperson Assistant Secretary Charles Jose said that the department is not keen on issuing a travel ban to South Korea.

He said that no Filipino has been infected by the disease.

Jose urged Filipinos in South Korea to take necessary precautionary measures to avoid contracting the disease.

“They are reminded to take extra precautionary measures so that they will not be infected by the virus,” he said.

The World Health Organization is yet to declare a MERS-CoV outbreak or pandemic in the country.

According to the latest report of Agence France-Presse, the total number of people infected by the disease stands at 87, including six people who died.

There are 2,300 people placed under quarantine and almost 1,900 schools in Seoul and nearby Gyeonggi province have been closed in fear of further spreading the disease.

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