The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Monday said the Korean government will be implementing a certification-based system to ensure that no traveller from the North Gyeongsang in South Korea will be allowed entry in the country.
On Feb. 26, the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) imposed a partial travel ban to South Korea due to its rising number of novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19).
Under the partial travel ban, travellers South Korea, except those from North Gyeongsang, which have high incidents of Covid-19, will still be allowed to enter in the country.
During the press briefing in Malacañang on March 2, BI spokesperson Dana Sandoval admitted that they are having difficulty in implementing the said travel ban.
“What’s particular about this travel ban, it’s not the entire country, but only selected areas of South Korea,” Sandoval said.
“Unlike for the past bans for China, Hong Kong and Macau, we know that once [a traveller] comes from ports there within the last 14 days, they will not be allowed travel [within the country],” Sandoval said.
The IATF-EID still has existing travel ban in China, Hong Kong, Macau, and South Korea.
To address the issue, Sandoval said the South Korean government already “pledged to issue a certification to know if that person, that foreign national is coming” from North Gyeongsang.
“But temporarily while this mechanism is still not in place, we are looking at the resident registration certificate or the national ID of the foreign national for us to know came from there [ North Gyeongsang]. If that is their address,” Sandoval said.
Health Assistant Secretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the IATF-EID will meet by March 3 to determine if the coverage of the travel ban in South Korea will be expanded.
The World Health Organization (WHO) there were 3,736 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in South Korea as of March 1.
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